





"■; ^o^ 




• Or •, 





















1 '^ v^K * 



V 



■ 



^•^^X. 













-^.^ ^^ 
















REPORT 



'^Ja 



t* 



EDUCATION IN EUROPE, 



TRUSTEES 



GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. 



BY 

ALEX. DALLAS BACHE, LL.D. 

PRESIDENT OF THE COLLESE. 



PHILADELPHIA: 
PRINTED BY LYDIA R. BAILEY, 26 NORTH FIFTH STREET. 

1839. 






Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1839, by 

A. D. BACHE, 

{in behalf of the Trustees of the Girard College for Orphans,) 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the 
Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 



PREFACE. 



The origin and nature of the following Report, which has 
been ordered to be printed by the Trustees of the Girard Col- 
lege for Orphans, will be best explained by prefixing to it the 
instructions directing the tour, during which the information 
embodied in it was collected. These instructions were di'awn 
up by the Committee on Scholastic Education,* who were- 
charged with this duty by the Board of Trustees. 



Board of Trustees of the Girard College for Orphans, 
Septemher 19, 1836. 

A. D. Bache, Esq., 

President of the Girard College for Orphans, 

Philadelphia. 

Dear Sir: — I enclose a copy of a resolution, passed by this 
Board on the 19th July last, authorizing you to visit Europe, 
under the instructions of the Committee on Scholastic Educa- 
tion. I also enclose, in quadruplicate, a commission from the 
Board, certified by the Mayor of Philadelphia, stating the 
objects of your mission, and asking the aid of all friends of 
science to facilitate your inquiries. The financial arrange- 
ments for your salary and expenses are, as you know, com- 

* Consisting of Nicliolas Biddle, Chairman, W. M. Meredith, J. M. Keag-y, 
J.C. Biddle, S. V. Merrick, and W. W. Haly, Esq'rs. The Board of Trustees has 
since had to regret the decease of Dr. J. M. Keagy and J. C. Biddle, Esq., two 
of its most attentive and efficient nicmbers. 



IV PREFACE. 

pleted. It remains only for the Committee to add their instruc- 
tions for your government. 

Your familiarity with the subject of education, and your per- 
sonal acquaintance with the views of the Board, of which you 
were a member, supersede the necessity of any detailed ex- 
planations in regard to the purposes of your voyage, or the best 
means of axjcomplishing them ; and the Committee will, there- 
fore, confine themselves to such general instructions as may 
regulate the course of your movements and inquiries. 

The Board of Trustees are charged by the City of Philadel- 
phia to prepare a system of instruction for the Girard College 
for Orphans. For this purpose they are anxious to have the 
most accurate information of the best means used for the same 
purpose elsewhere, and you have been selected to obtain it. 
Your object, then, is to visit all establishments in Europe simi- 
lar to the Girard College; and as these are found principally, if 
not exclusively, in England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Bel- 
gium, Holland, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Prussia, and the 
rest of the states of Germany, these countries will form the 
natural limits of your tour. Accordingly, all institutions in each 
of those countries resembling the Girard College, or any others 
which promise to afford useful information in organizing it, you 
will see and examine. Your own reflection will readily suggest 
the points of information desired; and I will, therefore, merely 
enumerate a few, which may serve as a basis for your own 
extensive inv^estigation. Of every establishment visited by you, 
we should wish to know — 

1. Its history, general administration, and the nature and ex- 
tent of its funds. 

2. Its interior organization and government ; the names, titles, 
and duties of all the persons employed in it. 

3. Who are admitted to it, and the forms and terms of ad- 
mission, and where it is professedly for the education of 
orphans who are considered as orphans. 



PREFACE. V 

4. The number and classification of the scholars, and their 
term of residence. 

5. Their course of studies, in the minutest detail, from the 
commencement to the end of their residence in the institution, 
with the text-books and other works used. 

6. As a part of that course, specially important to the Girard 
College, we should desire to know the regulations or the prac- 
tice by which, among a large body of scholars, a portion, after 
continuing for some time in the institution, are permitted to begin 
their active career in life — while others, with greater aptitude 
or greater willingness to learn, are carried up to the higher 
branches of education. The nature and the mode of that dis- 
crimination would be highly interesting — as would also be — 

7. The precise extent to which moral and religious instruc- 
tion is proposed to be given, and is actually given, and also by 
whom and in what form that instruction is conveyed. 

8. The mechanical arts taught — the mode of teaching them 
— the models, tools, and implements of all kinds employed — 
and the manner in which the practice of these arts is mingled 
with the routine of studies. 

9. The system of rewards and punishments in regard to stu- 
dies or personal conduct. 

10. The general police and discipline of the school. 

11. The amusements — gymnastic exercises — games of all 
kinds, uniting instruction with agreeable relaxation — together 
with the number and extent of the vacations, pecuniary allow- 
ance, or personal indulgences to the scholars. 

12. The diet and clothing of the scholars. 

13. The regulations in regard to health, hours of study and 
of rest, arrangement as to sleeping and eating, and the whole 
routine of each day's employment. 

14. The expenses of the school, including salaries and all 
incidents, with the average annual expense of each scholar. 



VI PREFACE. 

15. The structure of the buildings, the arrangement of dor- 
mitories, refectories, play-grounds, and work-shops, illustrated 
by drawings, where they can be procured. 

16. As a proper foundation for similar statistical inquiries in 
this country, you will collect all the information you can in 
respect to the proportion of orphans to the rest of the com- 
munity. 

These general heads of inquiry, which you can easily mul- 
tiply, will indicate the wish of the Board that your examination 
should be thorough and practical. They already possess, or 
may easily obtain, all that books can teach on the subject. It 
is your especial duty to study the actual working of the ma- 
chinery of education; to domesticate yourself, if practicable, in 
these institutions, and, by your own personal observation, to 
distinguish what is really useful from what is merely plausible 
in theory. 

It is this anxiety that your investigation should be complete, 
which induces them not to fix at present any period for your 
return. How much time it may require cannot now be safely 
determined. They rely confidently on your diligence, and are 
sure that you will not prolong your absence without ample 
reason. While, therefore, they are very anxious to open the 
College with the least possible delay, they deem it so much 
more important to begin well than to begin soon, that they post- 
pone naming any limit to your stay in Europe, until you are 
able to apprize them of your progress. 

In respect to the purchase of books and apparatus, mentioned 
in the resolution of the Board, it is not their wish that you 
should, at this time, purchase a library, or an extensive philo- 
sophical apparatus. You will only inquire where they can be 
best procured hereafter, and, in the mean time, limit your actual 
purchases to text-books and other works used in schools, or 
which may assist your inquiries: to models, drawings, and such 
philosophical instruments as may be necessary or useful in 



PREFACE. Vll 

opening the College, or which you may deem it expedient to 
procure in anticipation of the larger collection. 

The materials and information thus acquired you will, on 
your return, present to the Board of Trustees, and at the same 
time, or as soon thereafter as practicable, you will prepare a 
final Report, with a plan for the government and instruction of 
the College — the result of all your examination and reflection. 

In the mean time, you will keep the Board constantly advised 
of your movements. 

With my best wishes that your mission may be as pleasant 
as I am sure it will be useful, I remain, 

Your's, truly, 

(Signed.) N. BIDDLE, Chairman. 



• — - -s»-:-!F ■i,- 






CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

Introductory Remarks, 1 

PART FIRST. 

INSTITUTIONS FOR. THE EDUCATION OF ORPHANS AND OTHER DESTITUTE CHILDREN. 

CHAPTER I. 

Eleemosynary Institutions of Great Britain, 11 

Education Hospitals for Boys, at Edinburgh, 12 

Notice of the Orphan Hospital, 13 

Description of Heriot's Hospital, 13 

Description of George Watson's Hospital, .... 32 

Description of John Watson's Institution, .... 38 

Notice of Cauvin's Hospital, 47 

Eleemosynary Schools of England, ....... 48 

Description of the Liverpool Blue-coat School, ... 48 

Notice of Henshaw's Hospital, or tlie Oldham Blue-coat School, 56 

Description of the London Orphan Asylum, Clapton, - - 58 

Description of Christ's Hospital, or the London Blue-coat School, 65 

CHAPTER II. 

Orphan-houses of Germany, 83 

Introductory Observations, 83 

Description of the Orphan-house of Hamburgh, ... 83 

Notice of the Orphan-house of Altona, 93 

Description of the Franke Foundations at Halle, - . . 94 

Description of the Military Orphan-house at Potsdam, • - 115 

Courses of Instruction in the Military Orphan-house at Annaburg, 125 
Notices of the Civil Orphan-houses at Potsdam and at Little 

Gliencke, 129 

Description of the Orphan-house of Frankfort on Maine, - 131 
Description of the School for Soldiers' Children at Struppen, near 

Dresden, 137 

Description of the Orphan-house of St. John at Prague, . - 140 
B 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER III. PACK. 

Orphan-houses and Foundations of Holland, 146 

Introductory Remarks, 146 

5lotice of the Burgher Orphan-house at Amsterdam, - - 147 

General Remarks on the Orphan-houses. 

Notice of the Renswoude Foundations, - . . . . 151 

PART SECOND. 

INSTITUTIONS FOR EDUCATION IN GENERAL. 

Outline of the Plan of tliis part of the Report, 153 

CHAPTER I. 
Infant Schools, ...-------- 157 

Introductory Observations. 

Model Infant School of the Glasgow Education Society, - - 159 
Model School of the Edinburgh Infant School Society, ■ - 166 
Gray's Inn-Road School, of the Home and Colonial Infant School 

Society, of London, ........ 167 

CHAPTER II. 

Primary or Elementary Schools, 170 

Introductory Remarks. 

Elementary Instruction in Great Britain, 174 

General Account of the Provisions for Elementary Instruction in England, 
Ireland, and Scotland. 

Juvenile Training School of the Glasgow Education Society, - 178 

Sessional School of Edinburgh, 189 

Elementary Departments of the Madras College at St. Andrew's, 194 
Noticeof the Circus-Place School of Edinburgh, ... 196 

CHAPTER III. 
Primary Instruction in France, 199 

General Organization of Primary Instruction. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Primary or Elementary Instruction in Holland, - . - . . 202 

General Organization, &c. 

A Primary School at the Hague, 209 

Comparison of the Burgher Schools and French Schools with the 

Schools for tlie Poor, 218 

CHAPTER V. 

Primary or Elementary Instruction in Prussia, ..... 220 

General Account of the Organization, &,c. 

Primary Schools for the Poor, at Berlin, - - - - . 231 
Observations on the Burgher or Middle Schools, ... 235 



PA«E. 

Seminary School of Weissenfels, 237 

Dorothean Higher City-scliool of Berlin, - . . . . 240 

Seminary School of Berlin, 247 

Higher Burgher School of Potsdam, 261 

Remarks on the Primary Instruction of Prussia, 268 

CHAPTER VI. 

Elementary Instruction in Saxony, &c., 271 

General Organization, Sec. Schools of Dresden and Leipsic. Burgher 

School of Leipsic, 278 

Notice of the Model Burgher School of Frankfort on the Maine, - - 287 

CHAPTER VII. 

Primary Schools of Baireuth in Bavaria, with Special Reference to Doctor 

Graser's System of Education, ....... 291 

SCHOOLS OF THE ELEMENTARY CLASS INTENDED TO PREPARE FOR SOME PARTICULAR. 
OCCUPATION IN LIFE. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Schools of Agriculture and Industry, . . . . n, - - 303 

Rural Schools of Switzerland, «&c., ....... 305 

Agricultural School of Hofwyl, 306 

Rural School of Carra, 310 

Agricultural School of Templemoyle, near Londonderry, . . 311 

Manual Labour School of Ealing, near London, . - • 315 

Lamartinidre Industrial School of Lyons, - . . - . - 318 

CHAPTER IX. 

Seminaries for the Preparation of Teachers of Primary Schools, - - 323 

Introductory Observations. 

Seminaries for Primary Teachers in Prussia, 327 

Seminary of Weissenfels, 330 

Seminary of Berlin, 342 

Education of Teachers in Holland. 

Notice of the School for the Education of Teachers at Haarlem, 346 
Normal Schools of France. 

Primary Normal Schools of Versailles and Dijon, . - - 349 
Schools for Teachers in Switzerland. 

Normal School of Zurich, 355 

SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 

CHAPTER X. 

General Divisions of Secondary Instruction, 362 

Observations on the Secondary Instruction preparatory to the University Courses. 



Xll CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Secondary Schools of Great Britain. General Remarks, - - - 365 

The Academy of Edinburgh, -....-- 368 

Notice of the Glasgow Higii-School, ..... 374 

Notice of the Belfast Academy, ...... 379 

Notice of the Belfast Academical Institution, .... 381 

The Hill Street Institution of Edinburgh, and comparison witli 

the Academy, 382 

The Grammar School at Rugby, 390 

Courses of Instruction at Harrow Grammar School, - - 398 

Comparison of Rugby and Harrow, &c., .... 399 

St. Domingo-House School at Everton, near Liverpool, • - 402 

Bruce-Castle School at Tottenham, near London, - - - 409 

CHAPTER XI. 
Secondary Instruction in France, ....... 417 

General Organization of the University of France and of Secondary In- 
struction. 

The Royal Colleges of France, 424 

Normal School for the Education of Teachers for the Secondary 

Schools, 440 

CHAPTER XII. 
Secondary Instruction in Prussia, ....... 450 

General Division of the Schools. 

Organization of Classical Secondary Schools or Gymnasia, ... 451 
Frederick William Gymnasium of Berlin, ... - 470 

Cologne Real Gymnasium of Berlin, 471 

Gymnasium at Schulpforta, ....... 472 

Comparison of the Studies of the Frederick William Gymnasium 
at Berlin, of the Cologne Real-Gymnasium at Berlin, and of the 

Schulpforta Gymnasium, 477 

General Remarks and Comparisons of the Secondary Instruction of differ- 
ent Countries, 503 

Secondary Schools belonging to the Second Division, or preparatory to the 

Mechanic Arts and Higher Trades, ....... 517 

Royal Real-School of Berlin, -...-.. 517 

City Trade-School of Berlin, 523 

Notice of the Fitzthum Gymnasium and Blochnian Boarding School at 

Dresden, 533 

SUPERIOR SCHOOLS. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

General Remarks on the Classification of Superior Schools, - - - 536 
Universities and Special Schools of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce. 



CONTENTS. XIU 

PAGE. 

Polytechnic School of France, 542 

Notice of the Schools, of Roads and Bridges, and of Mines, of 

France, 561 

School of Arts and Manufactures of Paris, .... 563 

Notice of the Boarding Institute of Arts at Charonne, . . 572 

Schools of Arts of Prussia, 573 

Institute of Arts at Berlin, 574 

Polytechnic Institute of Vienna, 583 

School of Mines of Saxony, at Freyberg, .... 589 

Institute of Agriculture and Forestry at Hohenheim, - - 595 

Naval School of Austria, at Venice, 600 

Concluding Remarks, 602 

APPENDIX. 

No. I. List of Documents collected in Great Britain, France, Switzer- 

land, Belgium, Holland, Germany, and Italy, ... 609 
No. II. Distinctions to be drawn between Institutions for the Main- 
tenance and Education of Orphans, and those for other 

classes of children, 643 

No. III. Rules of Heriot's Hospital, Edinburgh, relating to those who 
have passed through the institution, and are serving an ap- 
prenticeship, 644 

No. IV. Queries to be answered by Apprentices from Heriot's Hospital 

to their masters, and keepers of the houses where they board, 645 
No. V. List of Studies and Distribution of Time, prepared for John 
Watson's Institution, Edinburgh. Distribution of Time at 
Heriot's Hospital, Edinburgh. List of Text-books used at 
Heriot's and George Watson's Hospital, Edinburgh, at the 
Madras College, St. Andrew's, and the High School of 

Edinburgh, 646 

No. VI. Documents relating to the Admission of Pupils into Cauvin's 

Hospital, 651 

No. VII. Tables of Diet in various Eleemosynary Institutions, . . 653 
No. VIII. Table of the Order of the Day in Eleemosynary and other 
Schools, both primary and secondary, showing the amount 
of time occupied in study, exercise, &.C., .... 655 
No. IX. Example of a Bible lesson in the Glasgow Model Infant School, 656 
No. X. Method of teaching to read, called " Reading Disentangled," 657 
No. XI. Remarks on Education by Mr. Emanuel de Fellenberg, - 658 
No. XII. Remarks by the Rev. Dr. Arnold on the Study of the Classics, 661 
No. XIII. Brief Notes of Orphan Statistics, 665 



ERRATA. 

The following errata should be corrected as affecting, in general, the meaning 
of the text. 

On page 5, line 17 from top of page, /or " western" read southern, 
bottom, erase one of the "its." 

" before " impossible" insert sometimes, 
top, for the semicolon after " exercises" />Zace a comma, 
bottom, /or "require" read requires, 
top, for " insures" read insure. 

" insert " Intellectual Education" at beginning of 
line, 
bottom, for " infraction" read infractions. 
" for " amout" read amount. 
" for " gospel" read gospels, and/or " works" read 
books, 
top, for " introduction" read introductory. 
" for " ten" read two. 
" insert after " credit of," first, 
bottom, /or "composing" read comparing. 

" for " body" read board, 
top, for " recite" read have recreation. 

" for " branches" read bachelor, 
bottom, /or "Olto" read Otto. 
Note, for « 380,381" read 398,399, 
top, erase " at a quarter to seven." 
bottom, /or "Frey burgh" read Freyberg. 

" erase the colon between "described" and "at 
Potsdam." 
589, 14 top, for " Freyburg" read Freyberg. 

593, 15 " " " " 



6, 


13 


8, 


18 


15, 


17 


18, 


7&8, 


28, 


13 


50, 


12 


76, 


13 


112, 


17 


125, 


12 


129, 


15 


151, 


10 


305, 


8 


386, 


10 


391, 


12 


409, 


3 


435, 


11 


477, 


10 


504, 




534, 


15 &1 


540, 


17 


573, 


14 



REPORT ON EDUCATION. 



TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE 

GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. 

Gentlemen : 

Having completed the tour of examination into the state of 
Education in Europe, undertaken by your direction, with espe- 
cial reference to the organization of the Girard College for 
Orphans, I beg leave to present to you a Report upon the infor- 
mation collected. 

The more immediate direction of my mission, as President 
of the Girard College for Orphans, w^as devolved by the Trus- 
tees upon their Committee on Scholastic Education, from whom 
I received detailed instructions. In these I was directed to 
visit the institutions in the principal countries of Europe, which 
might be supposed to afford useful information towards organi- 
zing the College, to procure text-books, and other works used 
in the more remarkable schools, and the more important works 
on Education: and to collect such philosophical instruments, 
models, and drawings, as might be useful or necessary in open- 
ing the College, or as might seem to me desirable to be pur- 
chased in anticipation of the larger collections. 

My arrangements for leaving home were completed at the 
close of September, 1836; and after having visited the chief 
countries of Europe, which were the most interesting for my 
undertaking, I completed my tour in October, 1838. It is 
almost needless to say, that I am now not only ready, but 
1 



2 IN'TRODUCTiON. 

anxious to render available, as soon as possible, in the organi- 
zation of the Girard College, the knowledge which has thus 
been acquired. 

It will be the design of the present Report to state in what way 
I have executed the instructions of the Committee of the Board 
of Trustees, and to present the result of the inquiries which they 
directed. Their instructions contained, besides the general 
indications of the objects of my journey, suggestions as to the 
mode of securing these objects, which I found highly useful, 
and for which I feel very grateful. The most important pur- 
pose of my mission was the examination of institutions for Edu- 
cation, and my Report will principally consist of descriptions of 
these, and remarks upon them. The other objects were se- 
condary, and even incidental. 

Whoever has even glanced at the part of the Will of Mr. 
Girard, which relates to the endowment of a "College for Or- 
phans," must have perceived that he intended no ordinary 
Orphan Asylum to be created with the immense fund which his 
liberality intrusted to the authorities of the city of his adoption. 
Mr. Girard has put himself in the place of a father to the 
orphan, and has determined that talent shall have all the oppor- 
tunities for development, by education, within the reach of chil- 
dren the most favoured by the circumstances of their parents. 
This view has been prominent in all the measures taken by the 
City Councils of Philadelphia, in the execution of their trust; 
and the Board of Trustees, to whom they have delegated the 
direct control of the Institution, have, by their President, official- 
ly asserted this same understanding of the founder's wishes. A 
due execution, therefore, of the instructions of the Scholastic 
Committee, required not merely an examination of orphan- 
houses and elementary schools, but of the various modes of 
education and grades of instruction. This task I undertook 
with real distrust of my power to do it justice, notwithstanding 
the encouragement extended by the choice made of me, by 
gentlemen for whom I entertain a high respect. I must be allow- 
ed to say that, in the course of attempting its execution, I have 
spared no personal exertion, and that, though I may regret it 



INTRODUCTION. 3 

was not in abler hands, my conscience acquits me of having 
wasted any part of the time or means so liberally placed at my 
disposal by my fellow citizens. 

Before entering upon the descriptive portion of my Report, 
I propose to give a brief sketch of the views and circumstances 
which guided me in the distribution of time in the different coun- 
tries visited, and to present some of the general features of pub- 
lic education peculiar to each of them. 

While there can be no doubt that the general principles of 
education must be founded upon those of human action, and 
hence be common to all nations, it must be admitted that sys- 
tems framed from such general laws would require considera- 
ble modification to render them applicable to different countries. 
Differences in political and social organization, in habits and 
manners, require corresponding changes to adapt a system of 
education to the nation; and, without such modifications, success 
in the institutions of one country is no guarantee for the same re- 
sult in those of another. The difficulties, however, of working 
out a plan of education, from observation, appeared to me much 
greater at the outset of my undertaking than they do now, that I 
have seen how very many of the essentials are common to all well 
organized institutions having the same scope. A consideration 
of these difficulties induced me to make Great Britain the first 
point of my tour, since it was reasonable to infer that the success- 
ful methods of education there might be more easily transplant- 
ed, being more directly applicable at home than those of other 
countries. The examination of some of the more interesting insti- 
tutions there occupied rather more than eight months; and, lest 
this portion of time should appear too great in comparison with 
that devoted to the Continent, it may be well to state the cir- 
cumstances which absolutely required so considerable an allot- 
ment. Owing to the absence of any regular or central system 
of education, and of any general responsibility in the manage- 
ment of its institutions for public instruction, and to the entire 
freedom of individual effort, more time is required to obtain 
access to, and examine the establishments of Great Britain, than 
of any other country which T visited. A proper idea of the 



4 INTRODUCTION. 

general arrangements can be obtained only by a study of parti- 
cular cases, and each institution requires to be approached 
individually, and often in a different way, to secure a profitable 
entrance. As entirely different ideas frequently prevail in the 
organization of institutions of the same class, it is not sufficient, 
as it usually is elsewhere, to see merely a specimen to judge of 
the whole. For the special objects of my tour, the eleemosy- 
nary institutions were to be carefully inspected; and in the 
number of its Educational Charities, its Orphan Asylums, Blue- 
coat Schools, and Education Hospitals, Great Britain exceeds 
every other country in Europe. The city of Edinburgh and its 
vicinity alone contain five such institutions for boys, and no two 
of these are exactly alike in their regulations and adminis- 
tration, so that it was necessary to visit all to form precise 
ideas of their arrangements. If this be true of establishments 
having similar objects, in the same city, it may be inferred of 
those in different parts of the kingdom, and facts fully sustain 
the inference. It is true, to such an extent, that in preparing 
descriptions of these schools to present to the Board, I have 
found it difficult to classify them, so that by presenting, in 
detail, one institution as the type of a class, I might avoid the 
too great extension of this Report. The management of these 
institutions, the observation of which formed an important part 
of my duty, may serve in many points, especially in all that re- 
lates to the material comforts of life, as a model to those of other 
countries, in many of which I freely admit that more just ideas 
in regard to instruction prevail. Upon a review of the results 
of my visit to the institutions of Great Britain, it appears to me 
that the time was well bestowed, though more profitable experi- 
ence in regard to instruction was acquired in less time in some 
of the countries of the Continent. 

After completing a tour through some of the institutions of 
Ireland, Scotland, and England, I crossed to the Continent, and 
visited, in turn, the principal schools of France, Switzerland, 
Holland, Belgium, and the chief States of Germany, making also 
a rapid visit to Italy. The same subjects of inquiry did not, of 
course, interest me equally in these different countries, and I 



IPfTRODUCTIOlV. 5 

proceed to pass briefly in review their respectiv^e points of 
interest. 

In Great Britain, the charitable institutions for education oc- 
cupied most of my attention. There, as in oth.er countries 
where similar establishments exist, and where no great or re- 
cent change has been made in public instruction, the instruction 
within them resembles more nearly that of the schools of the 
same grade in general, than in countries where such a change 
has been wrought. While engaged in visiting them, I did not 
neglect, however, institutions which afforded a less direct pros- 
pect of advantage. To illustrate by an example; although 
Heriot's, the Watsons', and other hospitals for education at 
Edinburgh and Glasgow occupied a large share of my atten- 
tion while in Scotland, I visited, more or less in detail, at 
Edinburgh, the Model Infant School, the Circus-Place Prepara- 
tory School, the Sessional School, the High School, the Aca- 
demy, the Western Academy, the Hill Street Institution, and 
the University ; at Glasgow, the Infant and Juvenile Schools of 
the Education Society, the diflerent departments of the High 
School, and the University, I also made an excursion to St. 
Andrew's, to visit the Madras College founded by Dr. Bell. 

In France, the general system of education, especially as 
modified in its lower departments, and the schools for science 
and the arts, formed the special objects of examination. The 
orphans are, in general, associated with the foundlings, and dis- 
tributed through the country at the expense of the state; the 
system presenting nothing, as far as my inquiries led, either for 
approval or imitation. The plan, of which I venture to speak 
thus freely, must not be confounded with the excellent system 
in the Grand Duchy of Weimar, which, though similar in ap- 
pearance, differs essentially from it. In Weimar, orphan chil- 
dren, deprived of both parents, are distributed among families, 
as nearly as possible in the same station of hfe as the deceased 
parents, and a real superintendence, both moral and intellectual, 
is exercised over them by officers specially appointed for the 
purpose, and by the parochial clergy and schoolmasters. 

In Switzerland, recent and great efforts, consequent upon the 



G INTRODUCTION. 

advance of true liberty, have been made among the republics, 
in behalf of general education. The school of Pestalozzi, at 
Yverdun, occupies a prominent place in the history of educa- 
tion ; and the institutions of Fellenberg, at Hofwyl, have been 
frequently desciibed. Others of great merit, but more recently 
established, are less generally known, and some of them will, 
as far as my limits allow, be noticed in this Report. I cannot, 
however, enter into the particulars requisite to present the 
striking results which the last seven years have produced in 
many of the cantons. 

The common school system, as well as the eleemosynary 
institutions of Holland, deservedly attract much attention, and 
afforded interesting subjects for examination. There are pecu- 
liarities about both, and experiments have been made there 
which bear upon some of the most interesting questions in edu- 
cation. I need only refer, here, to those of the method of mu- 
tual instruction, and of the manner of supplying teachers; the 
latter of which experiments has led to a conclusion in favour 
of schools for teachers, which appears to me irresistible. 

Among the institutions of the different states and free towns 
of Germany, I visited more or less in detail those of Prussia, Sax- 
ony, Austria, Bavaria, Wurtemberg, Nassau, Weimar, Frank- 
fort, Bremen, and Hamburgh. The condition of public instruc- 
tion, in general, in the diflerent states, as well as of the different 
departments of it it in the same state, is very unequal. Prussia is 
at present decidedly in advance of the other larger German 
States in the education of the people, especially in the manner 
and matter of the instruction. The ease with which every 
point connected with the schools is ascertained, is remarkable^ 
and I look back to the time spent in them, and in intercourse 
with their teachers, as one of the most profitable portions of that 
occupied by my tour. As the various accounts which have 
been given of public instruction in Prussia have, in general, re- 
ferred to the system more particularly than to the schools, I 
shall, in this Report, touch more briefly upon the former, and 
go more into detail in regard to the latter. By reference to 
their spirit and minute arrangements, it is easy to see where 



INTRODUCTIOIV. 7 

they would apply as perfectly in a republic as in a monarchy. 
The instruction in many of the charitable institutions of that 
country has not kept pace with that in the schools in general, 
though there are others which have even led the way in im- 
provement. Weimar has followed closely the Prussian model 
in its system of education, and the schools of Nassau may 
be said to be derived from the same source. The schools 
of Saxony were once famous throughout Europe, but the pri- 
mary schools appear to have lost that rank; they are novi^, 
however, rapidly improving, by the same means which pro- 
duced the present advanced state of instruction in Prussia — the 
education of teachers. In Bavaria, changes of system have 
been too recent to render general remarks of any value. I 
shall, however, give an account of the method of Graser, in- 
troduced into the schools of a section of the kingdom. In 
Austria, public instruction remains nearly on the footing upon 
which it was placed by the reforming emperor, Joseph the 
Second. There can be no doubt that it was once much in 
advance of the times, though the elementary department is at 
present behind that of most of the other German States. They 
still adhere to the incomplete plan of educating teachers in ordi- 
nary schools, and to antiquated methods of instruction. The 
Schools of Arts in Austria rank, however, with the best in Eu- 
rope, and receive liberal encouragement from the government. 
Of the many institutions which have claimed my attention, 
it would be entirely impossible to give even a meagre sketch 
within the limits appropriate to a Report,* and if it were prac- 
ticable to go into details respecting all, many would be found 
not to repay the pains taken in reducing to paper a descrip- 
tion of them. In making the selection, which is thus neces- 
sary, I shall endeavour to bring to the notice of the Board 
the countries in which the different departments of education 
are best carried on, and to give a sketch of the system of edu- 
cation, illustrated by the minutiae of as many individual institu- 

* The whole number of schools visited was upwards of two hundred and 
seventy-eight; to some of these, however, I merely made a single short visit, 
others occupied me for several days. 



8 INTRODUCTION. 

tions as appear necessary to exemplify the system, and to 
render its results available for practice; endeavouring to render 
each account as complete in itself as the nature of the main 
object of my Report will permit. 

The manner of collecting the information w^hich I sought re- 
quires a passing notice. The introductions which usually flow 
in abundantly upon any one known to have a special object in 
visiting a country, opened to me the earliest and sometimes the 
best sources of information as to the existence, nature, and ex- 
tent of institutions, and of the books necessary to give particulars 
in regard to them, and which are rarely known at a distance. 
By consulting these and other works and documents, and by 
comparison of various opinions, I was usually enabled to decide 
correctly as to the course which I ought to take, to see what 
was most deserving of attention. However, sometimes erro- 
neous opinions deceived me, and I found that my course had 
missed some interesting point, or had brought me to one of 
little interest. Occasionally the error was irremediable, but 
not often. Again, as it was necessary to employ all periods 
of the year, I found it impossible to arrange my visit so as to 
pass through a country at the period of greatest activity in the 
schools. Where the system of public instruction was central, 
like that of France, or Prussia, recourse to authority pointed out 
the proper institutions to visit, and gained admission to them. 
The personal acquaintance which the teachers of Germany have 
with each other, greatly facilitated my progress in its several 
states. Almost everywhere, indeed, I have reason to remem- 
ber with gratitude the kind assistance rendered to me. Having 
ascertained the places which it would be, probably, profitable to 
visit and the institutions to be examined, I regulated the time 
and the attention devoted to them, by the interest which they 
appeared to present, returning to the same institution frequently 
or not at aJl, according to circumstances. As auxiliaries to my 
investigations during these visits, I procured the printed docu- 
ments which existed relative to the institutions. 

I also prepared beforehand a series of questions, to which, 
when modified to suit the particular establishment in regard to 



INTRODUCTIOIV. 9 

which detailed information was desired, I obtained answers 
from the head, or from one or more intelligent persons connect- 
ed with the establishment. 

The written and printed sources of information which are 
thus at the disposal of the Board, are 1st. A journal of my visits 
to different institutions, and of verbal information received in 
regard to them, with my remarks. 2d. Replies to a series of 
questions in •regard to particular institutions, or systems of in- 
struction. 3d. Statutes, by-laws, and regulations of different in- 
stitutions. Laws and documents relating to public instruction, 
&c. 4th. Histories, descriptions, and text-books of different 
schools. 5th. Particular works on education. 

These form a mass of documentary matter which, duly ar- 
ranged and digested,* will always throw the light of experiment 
upon doubtful points in the working of our system of organization. 
In many cases the documents, descriptive of the schools, give 
the actual results of suggestions contained in the works on edu- 
cation. 

From this mass I propose to draw out some of the more 
prominent parts, and to call the attention of the Trustees spe- 
cially to them. The personal experience gained by my tour 
will, however, as far as the Girard College is concerned, be its 
most important result. I could not expect the Trustees to fol- 
low me through descriptions or even notices of all the institu- 
tions which I have visited during my two years' absence, or lis- 
ten to a record of the many failures and mistakes which I have 
seen, and which, though they have formed one considerable item 
in the experience gained, it would be truly an ungrateful task 
to record. 

As best calculated to present the impressions, derived from 
this examination, of the actual results of education, I have adopt- 
ed the descriptive form for my Report, and have purposely 
avoided summing up the conclusions, or presenting a review 

* The translations from foreign languages have been made by Mr. Theodore 
Trewendt, to whose indefatigable zeal and industry in tliis matter, I am much 
indebted. The documents and books have also been systematically arranged by 
him, A list of the documents is appended to this Report. 
2 



10 INTRODUCTION. 

of them separately from the facts, that the force of the opinions 
may not be weakened by appearing out of tiiis connexion. It is 
true that the remarks must be considered as general inductions 
from numerous facts, and not inferences from single instances, but 
these instances serve as their best illustration, if not sufficient, 
taken singly, to prove that they are just. These remarks sug- 
gested themselves at first as queries to be answered by further 
observation. 

This Report will be divided into two parts, the first relating 
to the means provided for the education of orphans, the second 
to the systems of general education. Corresponding to these di- 
visions there are two groups of institutions which present, 
in general, different objects for consideration; in the first, the 
government, discipline, and domestic economy, as well as the 
instruction are to be examined; while in the second, the instruc- 
tion is the chief point of interest. Every individual institu- 
tion in the first group should furnish moral, intellectual, and 
physical education; many in the second are necessarily more 
limited in their design. 



PART I. 



INSTITUTIONS FOR THE EDUCATION OF ORPHANS, OR OTHER 
DESTITUTE CHILDREN, THE ADVANTAGES OF WHICH ARE 
SOMETIMES EXTENDED TO OTHER CLASSES. 

It is not very material in what order these institutions are 
discussed, and I have adopted a geographical arrangement as 
well suited to their classification. The institutions selected to 
present to your notice, are a part of those of Great Britain, of 
the German States, and of Holland. I shall begin with those of 
Scotland, presenting next those of England, then of Hamburgh, 
then of Prussia, Saxony, and Frankfort on the Maine, then of 
Bohemia, and lastly of Holland. 



CHAPTER I. 

SCHOOLS FOR ORPHANS, &c., IN GREAT BRITAIN. 

The greater number of well conducted and endowed institu- 
tions of this kind are found in Edinburgh, while the oldest is the 
celebrated Blue-coat School of London. The schools of this class 
throughout the kingdom resemble more or less the most prominent 
institution existing at the time when they were founded. Thus 
the arrangements of the Blue-coat Schools of Chester and Bris- 
tol have, until lately, been similar, and the new Blue-coat School 
at Oldham near Manchester, has been modelled upon the ex- 
cellent establishment of the same kind at Liverpool. In some 
of these older schools, as at Chester, changes have been very 
slowly adopted, and they are nearly as antique in their style of 
education as in the costume of the pupils; while in others, as at 
Bristol, great changes have recently been made : in general, 
however, they are behind the more modern institutions. I pro- 
pose to present in turn descriptions of the most prominent of the 



12 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 

schools of this kind which I visited; namely, of those at Edin- 
burgh, called hospitals, founded by George Heriot, George 
Watson and John Watson, whh a notice of Cauvin's Hospital, 
a description of the Blue-coat School at Liverpool, with a no- 
tice of that at Oldham near Manchester, a description of the 
London Orphan Asylum at Clapton, and of Christ's Hospital or 
the Blue-coat School of London. 

Li these, and in general in other cases where a formal division 
of the subject may be necessary, it will be treated under the 
heads of, 1st. The history, buildings, general government, and 
domestic economy of the institution. 2d. The reception and 
dismission of the pupils. 3d. The educational arrangements, 
considered under the divisions of intellectual, moral, and phy- 
sical education. 

There are in Edinburgh seven education hospitals, six of which 
admit other inmates than orphans. The effect of thus receiving 
children whose parents are alive, of maintaining, educating, and 
providing situations for them, is supposed by many intelligent 
men to be injurious to the tone of social morals,* and to remove 
a stimulus to honourable exertion on the part of parents, by pro- 
viding for their children if they surrender them, or, if the pa- 
rents are disposed to struggle for their education at home, by 
placing them in unfavourable competition with others so edu- 
cated. Such an opinion might be brought to the test of numbers, 
but I was not able to find that this had been done by any who 
entertained it. The grounds of the argument, even if admitted 
to their full extent, do not, however, affect the establishment of 
orphan-charities, and a provision for the fatherless seems to 
have been the governing motive in the original foundation of 
at least three out of the five of the Edinburgh institutions for 
boys. 

Of these five houses of education, the Orphan Asylum is in- 
tended to fit its pupils for service, Heriot's and George Wat- 

* As an illustration of this opinion, I append to my Report, Appendix No. II., 
an extract from a history of the Orphan Hospital of Edinburgh, printed in 1833, 
in which the author has thought it necessary to show that this institution docs 
not lie under such objections. 



heriot's hospital. 13 

son's have each a provision for the higher instruction of boys 
of talent, and Cauvin's is intended to educate teachers. 

The building for the Orphan Hospital is on a fine scale, and 
its interior arrangements in general so good, that I herewith 
submit the plans. It is, as to economy and discipline, on a simi- 
lar footing with John Watson's Hospital, of which I shall give 
a particular description, while in regard to instruction it oc- 
cupies a lower level. On these accounts I hav^e supposed that a 
special description of the establishment is unnecessary. The 
government is of the paternal kind, the household forming one 
family, of which the master is the chief The moral, physical, 
and intellectual education, thus depend mainly upon one person, 
who acts, however, under certain general regulations prescribed 
by the trustees of the hospital. Fatherless children arc re- 
ceived in this institution as orphans. 

HERIOT'S HOSPITAL. 

History and Building. This noble institution, originally de- 
signed for the maintenance and education of poor fatherless 
sons of burgesses, or freemen,* of the city of Edinburgh, was 
founded in pursuance of the will of George Heriot, jeweller, 
dated 1G23. By this will Doctor Robert Balcanquall, Dean 
of Rochester, and master of the Savoy, London,t was select- 
ed to draw up the statutes for the organization and government 
of the institution, and to decide upon the plan of a building. By 
the statutes of Dr. Balcanquall, dated July, 1627, the govern- 
ment of Heriot's Hospital is vested in the provost, bailiffs, coun- 
cil, and ministers (of the established church) of the city of Edin- 
burgh, and the present building was erected between 1627 and 
1650. The charity has been extended to destitute children 
whose parents are living, and by a late act of Parliament the 
governors have been authorized to erect day-schools in the city 

* " For the maintenance, releife, bringing vpp and educa^on of soe manic 
poorc fatlicrlesse boyes, freemcns sonnes of that townc of Edonburgh." 

+ An institution intended for the relief of the poor, whicli was founded in 1513; 
suppressed on account of abuses in 1553. Restored by Queen Mary, and finally 
suppressed in 1702 by Queen Anne. 



14 ELEEMOSYiVARY INSTITUTION'S. 

with the surplus of their income, after supporting the present 
number of one hundred and eighty pupils in the hospital itself.* 
This surplus is derived from the increased value of the estates 
held by the governors; and the application of it to schools in- 
stead of to the increase of the hospital, was decided to be ad- 
visable, after much consideration and discussion. They were 
induced, no doubt, by the fiict that ample provision is made 
for destitute children of various classes in the city of Edinburgh, 
and perhaps also by the doubt, to which I have already refer- 
red, of the utility of institutions extending education and main- 
tenance to those whose parents are alive. My information in 
regard to this institution is derived from the printed documents, 
kindly furnished to me by the house-governorf and the trea- 
surer of the hospital ;J from an examination of the books kept at 
the hospital and at the treasurer's office, which, on stating the 
object of my mission, were most liberally opened to me; from 
replies to my queries by the house-governor; from repeat- 
ed visits to the institution at various hours, and from conversa- 
tions with the governors and masters.§ The government of the 
institution is regulated by the original statutes of Dr. Balcan- 
quall, of which certain parts only are deemed fundamental, 
and by regulations and by-laws enacted from time to time by 
the trustees. 

The building is in the Gothic style, with the irregularities and 
excess of ornament which it permits, and is beautifully situated, 
overlooking part of the old town of Edinburgh, and having a 
fine view of its picturesque castle and of the new town. The 
house is divided into many small rooms, approached by turret 
stairs, in the style prevailing two centuries ago, but now deem- 



* The present income of tlie institution is not less than from sixty-five to 
seventy thousand dollars. 

t The Rev. Hector Holme. \ Mr. Bayley. 

§ As the sources of information in regard to different institutions are very 
similar, and have already been stated in a general way, and are now repeated 
here, I do not think it necessary to restate them at every new description. 
The list of printed documents relatina; fo piililie instruction is in the Appendix 
No. I. 



heriot's hospital. 15 

ed inconvenient. It contains rooms for the meeting of the gov- 
ernors, for the lodging of the masters, a dining-hall for the 
pupils and for the masters, dormitories and wash-rooms, a 
kitchen, various offices, and bath-rooms. The room recently fit- 
ted up for the drawing-classes, is lighted from above, while 
blinds at the side windows prevent cross lights. Many of the 
rooms have the necessary arrangements for lighting them by 
gas, and the means of heating have been lately improved by 
the introduction of warm air. The ventilation of the school 
rooms is, however, quite imperfect. Indeed, of the many build- 
ings I have seen, very few are even tolerably ventilated, and it 
should be a matter of congratulation that our architect has de- 
voted much attention to this point.* 

The court about which the building is erected, serves as a 
place of play for the boys at certain times, and to give them full 
hberty in their games of hand-ball, which seem to find more fa- 
vour among them than regular gymnastic exercises ; gratings 
of wire are placed on the outside of the lower windows, which 
protect them from fracture. At first the effect of these gratings 
of wire, suggesting the idea of the want of discipline, which 
rendered them necessary as a protection to the windows, struck 
me unpleasantly, but when I saw the great freedom which it 
gave to the younger pupils in their games, my first impressions 
were entirely removed. 

General Government and Domestic Economy of the Institu- 
tion. The Board of Governors vest the internal management 
and immediate superintendence of the hospital in a visiting 
committee, who further divide themselves into sub-committees, 
meeting at the hospital at least once a fortnight. The house- 
governor meets with these committees. It is usual also for mem- 
bers of the board to attend the Sunday evening exercises at the 
institution. The board is also divided into the following commit- 

* The consequence of defective ventilation, on those confined in school-rooms, 
has been often much insisted upon, and yet proper ventilation is very imperfectly 
understood. It is not enough to trust merely to the opening of the upper parts 
of windows for such a purpose. Draughts and abrupt changes of temperature 
aie thus produced which are injurious to health. 



16 ELEEMOSYlVARy INSTITUTIONS. 

tecs: 1. Of auditors, who audit, yearly, the treasurer's accounts. 
2. Of finance, who advise with the treasurer on occasion, and ex- 
amine such accounts as the regulations do not refer to the 
treasurer and house-committee. 3. Of superintendence of the 
hospital property. 4, Of grounds leased. 5. Of laws. 6. Of 
the house, who attend to making contracts, passing bills for 
house expenses, ordering small repairs, &c. 7. Of education. 8. 
Of the superintendence of the boys after leaving the hospital. 9. 
Of the erection of new schools. 10. General visiting commit- 
tee of all the governors. 

The oflicers* of the institution are — 1st, a treasurer, who re- 
ceives the moneys for the register, pays the bills of the hospital, 
the salaries of the teachers, the expenses of every week as cer- 
tified by the house-governor and an accountant, and has charge 
of the repairs of the building. 

2d. A register, or clerk, of the hospital, who is also secre- 
tary to the governors, and has in general charge of the books 
and papers of the hospital. He attends also to all law business, 
receives the rents of the estates, the leases of which are exe- 
cuted by him. The checks for the payment of the oflicers within 
the hospital are sent there, with one also for the amount of ser- 
vant wages, which are paid by the matron. 

3d. The house-governor, who is the head of the institution, 
and also one of the teachers, and has a seat in the Board of Gov- 
ernors. He is responsible directly to the visiting committee 
or its sub-committees, and all the inmates of the hospital di- 
rectly to him. Besides acting as the head of the family, he is 
required to teach daily, three hours, the boys of the elder classes, 
"such branches as shall be interesting to all these boys, what- 
ever may be their destination in after life; for example, the gene- 
ral outlines of history, particularly English history; geography; 
the first principles of natural history and of mechanical philo- 
sophy; the elements of English composition; and the higher 

* The salaries arc judiciously left in blank in the original statutes. I do not 
insert tlio.se vvliich arc now paid, because the salaries of officers, taken out of 
connexion with niinuto statistical information in regard to the country in whicli 
fhcy reside, arc data wliich can lead to no just conclusions. 



heriot's hospital. 17 

branches of religious instruction." He must also examine the 
classes of the other masters, once a week, and preserve a re- 
cord of the places of the boys, &c. He keeps a book contain- 
ing the account of provisions received and issued, a record of 
things ordered for the house, which is settled weekly, a day- 
book for issues, the accounts of which are transferred to the 
ledger and to the monthly bills, a list of admissions, &c. 

4th. The masters, of whom four are resident, and whose 
duties will be particularly described hereafter. I remark here 
what seems to me a decided defect in the organization of the 
institution, that these masters have no meetings as a board, and 
hence their views of discipline and instruction are never directly 
consulted. 

5(h. A physician and surgeon, who, besides making regular 
visits, are required to attend as often as called for. 

6th. The mistress or matron, who has charge of all the move- 
ables of the house, and in general acts as mistress of the family; 
superintending the duties of the female servants, the issues of 
clothes, of tea and sugar, the police of the house, and of the pu- 
pils, the sick-rooms, the washing, the ordinary fare, and the 
diet of the sick. 

7th. The steward, who receives the supplies of meat, bread, 
milk, flour, &c., contracts for coal, and candles, and verifies the 
weight and quality, under the direction of the matron; has 
charge of the deliveries of the same, and of the order and po- 
lice of the dining-hall and of the eating utensils. His accounts 
are examined once a month, by the house-governor and trea- 
surer, and paid by the latter. 

The servants are as follows: Nine female servants for the 
police of the house, serving the tables, washing the feet of all 
the boys once a week, and the care of the junior boys in their 
wards. One of them may act as nurse. One cook. Three laun- 
dresses. Two wardmen, one of whom sleeps in and has charge 
of each senior ward. One of them must be in the play-ground 
when the boys are at play. Two porters, one of whom may 
be a married man, and has charge of the gates, and who are 
jointly responsible for the police of the grounds about the house, 
3 



18 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

and for the preservation of the building. They receive the visi- 
tors, who are admitted by an order from the treasurer, or the 
house-governor, and show them the various parts of the hospital. 

Reception and Dismission of Pupils. The rules require that 
application for admission shall be made at least three weeks be- 
fore the periods of election in April and October. The appli- 
cants must be above seven years of age and below eleven. The 
cases are canvassed by a committee of the governors, and se- 
lections are made depending upon the degree of destitution, the 
character of the parents, the degree of instruction which the 
applicant has received, and his general intelligence manifested 
at an examination by the house-governor. Children who have 
lost both parents are in general considered as presenting the 
highest claims; next those who have lost their father, and then 
those who have lost their mother, and lastly those whose pa- 
rents are aUve.* It is understood that certificates of the mar- 
riage of the parents, of the baptism of the children, and of the 
father's right as a freeman, must have been presented. 

The new comers are separated for twelve months from the 
rest of the boys at all times, occupying separate places in church 
and in chapel, and separate dormitories; taking their meals and 
exercise, and visiting their relations at different times from the 
others. By this regulation it seems to me that the force of good 
example is made ineffective, and that each new set of boys re- 
quire a new training. I am not aware when it was first enacted. 
It does not appear in the original statutes, and was perhaps one 
of the measures used to break up a most shocking abuse of the 
fagging system which prevailed many years ago in the school, 
and by which the elder boys were the complete tyrants of the 
younger ones. So deeply rooted had the practice of this sys- 
tem, known as "Garin law,"t become, that it cost the cxpul- 

* Of two liundred and three boys admitted, between October, 1830, and Octo- 
bcr, 1836, eight had lost both parents, thirty had lost their father, fourteen tlieir 
mother, and one hundred and forty-eight had both parents alive. Three were ad- 
mitted on presentations, not requiring a statement as to whether their parents 
were alive or not. 

t Gar signifies force. 



HERIOT S HOSPITAL. 19 

slon of some twenty pupils to eradicate it. I have every reason 
to believe that the true relation of the pupils to each other and 
to the masters, is now much better understood. It is easy to 
see that there may have been other reasons for the separation 
of the new comers from the other pupils, but none of those 
which occur to me seem to make it desirable. These boys are 
under female superintendence. 

The pupils in general leave the institution at fourteen years 
of age; if a boy is not fourteen on or before the day for regular 
dismission, he remains another year in the institution, and cer- 
tain pupils are retained until sixteen. The statutes provide that 
"hopeful scholars" may receive, for four years, a sum of money 
to enable them to attend the classes of the high-school as a 
means of preparation for, and to continue their education at, the 
University of Edinburgh. The institution pays the apprentice fee 
of such as are bound out, and gives gratuities to those who 
produce satisfactory certificates of conduct and progress. The 
regulations in regard to the arrangements for leaving the insti- 
tution are highly judicious, and will be found in detail in the 
Appendix to this Report (No. III.) The governors require, six 
months before the time when a boy should leave the school, a 
report of his conduct, acquirement, and talents, from the house- 
governor. One month before the same time a statement from 
his parent, or guardian, of the calling which it is wished the 
boy should adopt, the master who may be chosen, and the ar- 
rangements desired to be made for boarding. These matters are 
discussed, and the disposition made of the boy depends upon the 
result. The boy having been bound apprentice, the master can- 
not receive the annual instalments of the apprentice fee, without 
answering certain queries as to the conduct and proficiency of 
his apprentice. It is also provided that answers to two other 
similar series* of questions, one addressed to the apprentice, the 
other to the person with whom he lodges, shall be furnished an- 
nually, and the treasurer is enjoined to keep a register of them. 



* See Appendix No. IV. 



20 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

On leaving the institution, each pupil receives an outfit of 
clothing, &.C.* The boys intended for the university are main- 
tained and clothed, and receive a certain sum per annum. 

Education. This term appears to have been considered by 
the authors of the regulations as synonymous with instruction, 
and accordingly, they provide that "the education which the 
boys receive shall be, as much as possible, accommodated to 
the capacity and prospects of each."f The subjects of instruc- 
tion, according to the order in which they rank in importance 
in the institution, are English (/. e. spelling and reading,) gram- 
mar, geography, and history, writing, Latin, mathematics, draw- 
ing, French, music, Greek, mechanical and natural philosophy, 
and chemistry. These are taught in seven classes, and the first 
two are exclusively occupied with the English studies, writing, 
and arithmetic. The third and fourth classes have one hour of 
Latin. The sixth has but one hour of the miscellaneous English 
studies, and the seventh has none. Natural philosophy is in fact 
not taught, and the chemical course has been cut oflf. Greek is 
taught only in its very elements. In the attempts to improve 
the courses of this school, to bring them up to the present state 
of instruction, the additional branches have been loosely attach- 
ed, and the course is not now one consistent whole. The only 
remedy for this, consistent with keeping up with the progress 
of instruction, is to revise the entire course, from time to time, 
maintaining due subordination of the separate branches to the 
general plan of studies. 

The corps of masters is divided into resident masters and 
non-resident, a good arrangement when the teachers are nu- 
merous. There are resident in the house, besides the house-gov- 
ernor, who has charge of the geographical and religious in- 
struction, and of part of the historical course, two masters of 

• One dozen sliirts, half a dozen pairs of stockings, a Bible, and other books. 

t The kind of instruction which appeared necessary in the day of Dr. Balcan- 
quall, we learn from the statutes: "and becaus that the scholleris salbe brocht 
upe in letteris, their salbe a schoil maister whose office salbc to tcaehe the scho- 
Icris to read and wreaft Scottis distinctlie, to cypher and cast all maner of ac- 
comptis as also to teache yamc tlie Latinc rudinicntis, hot no further." 



heriot's hospital. 21 

the English branches, a mathematical, and a classical teacher. 
The non-resident teachers are those of music, writing, drawing, 
and French. The music taught is church music; and the draw- 
ing, that denominated mechanical drawing. 

The principal labour of teaching the various courses is 
divided among five masters. Of these, the house-governor 
teaches three hours every day; the other masters from six to 
seven hours, besides superintending the studies for an hour, 
and, in rotation, taking charge of the boys at rising and going 
to bed, at meals, and by the regulations being even responsible 
for them during play time. They are thus decidedly overbur- 
thened with labour, and the compensation which they receive 
for this devotion is not such as to attach them permanently to 
the institution. 

The methods of teaching the different general branches do 
not vary much. Lessons are given to be learned from books, 
either in or out of the school-room. Oral explanations are joined. 
The mathematical instruction is chiefly oral. In the English 
department the method of the sessional-school hereafter to be 
described, is intended to be practised.* The efficiency of this 
department seemed to me impaired by the distribution of the 
classes, each of the two masters having one division of each of 
the two English classes, so that there were always two divi- 
sions in the same master's room at the same time, in difl!erent 
states of advancement. As but one of these divisions could be 
taught at a time, the other was occupied in preparing lessons 
under monitors. The regulation which requires these masters 
to teach the elements of Latin, acts injuriously upon this depart- 
ment, and reacts upon the classical department, by giving a 
different elementary preparation to the two divisions, which are 
afterwards united in the proper Latin class. The classical in- 
struction is intended to prepare boys for the upper classes of 



* One of the English masters, the Rev. John Oswald, has prepared a series of 
etymologieal works, carrying out the practice of tlie sessional-school. His Ety- 
mological Dictionary of the English language was republished here, with notes, 
by the late Dr. J. M. Keagy, one of the Trustees of the CJirard College. 



22 ELEEMOSYNARY IPTSTITUTIONS. 

the high-school, and ultimately for the university. The Latin 
course extends to the partial reading of Virgil and Horace — 
and the Greek includes naerely the elements. The principle is 
recognised that all the pupils are not required to pursue the 
classical courses, the propriety of which will at once be ad- 
mitted, when it is stated that of sixty-two boys, forty-seven be- 
come apprentices to trades, and a larger number leave the insti- 
tution at or before sixteen years of age. The plan of carrying out 
this principle, however, strikes me as liable to many objections. 
The study of Latin begins in the fourth class, or after the boys 
have been three years in the school. The regulations provide 
that "each boy shall have a fair trial of the study of Latin. If, 
upon the average of the first year, he be found in the lowest 
tico-thirds of the class to which he belongs, he shall remain in 
that class for a second year; and if, at the end of the second 
year, he occupy no higher place in it, he shall be withdrawn 
from the study, and shall be engaged in other employments." 
The execution of this rule inevitably detains a boy who has not 
a talent for language two years in a class for which he is ut- 
terly unfit, injuring his habits of attention, wasting time which 
lie might otherwise employ to some purpose, and reacting inju- 
riously upon the class. In fact, a considerable number of the 
boys never, while they remain in the school, get beyond the 
fourth class, in which the elements of Latin are taught; and of 
those who pursue the Latin studies, very few succeed in securing 
the university places. Thus, for the sake of the few who can 
really benefit by the classical courses, the many are employed 
upon subjects which, to say the least, might better be replaced 
by others. I am far from being one of those who undervalue 
classical culture, but I am convinced that to be at all effective 
it must be thorough, that it cannot be thorough when the 
instruction is terminated at an early age, and that there are 
certain minds very little or not at all improvable by language, 
as there are others similarly related to mathematical studies. 
If the object of a school were to make professional men, I would 
have the classical course the rule, and then, consider as ex- 
ceptional cases those who, from character of mind, want of 



heriot's hospital. 23 

industry, inability from circumstances to remain sufficiently 
long in the school, or other causes, were unable to benefit 
largely by such a course; but if the school has a majority of 
its pupils intended for trades, I would make the culture of mind 
depending upon classics the exception. It is easy to see how 
such a system could be contrived, and there are many institu- 
tions on the continent of Europe, which furnish examples of the 
plan. In regard to the instruction in French, the same seems 
to me to be true, whether we consider it as a means of cultivat- 
ing the faculties, or as useful for future application. In point 
of fact, it is begun too late to acquire much knowledge of it 
before leaving the institution. 

With a view to inform themselves as to the results of their 
system of instruction, the governors have lately required from 
those boys who receive pecuniary rewards during their appren- 
ticeship, the presentation of three documents, before referred to, 
containing answers to certain queries. One of the sets of ques- 
tions is answered by the master, and relates to the conduct of 
the boy, as an apprentice; a second, by the person with whom 
the boy lodges, and contains an account of his conduct while 
in the house, of his hours, &c. ; a third, by the boy himself — 
and inquires, among other points, into his hours of work, his 
occupations, and relaxation, and the utility of his studies, 
while in the hospital, to the business in which he is engaged. 
This excellent regulation has been in force only some three 
years, and hence the inferences, from the replies of the boys, 
are not as important as they will one day be. Even with a 
longer continued average, they will not be absolutely conclu- 
sive in regard to the value of the several branches of study, for 
it requires very good judgment to get rid of the idea that only 
the immediately useful is at all useful, and to appreciate the 
effect of general mental culture. As a result, however, of the 
expression of opinion of forty-seven out of sixty-four boys, 
nearly all had found use for their arithmetical studies, and some 
for their English studies, including grammar, geography, and 
history. Of those from whom I saw no replies, seventeen in 
number, four were at the university, who, from the prizes which 



24 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

the " Heriot's boys" carry away in classics, no doubt found their 
Latin and Greek (especially the former) studies "useful;" three 
were not minors, and two deceased ; leaving but eight out of 
sixty-four unaccounted for. 

Should the results of these queries continue to be as just stated, 
they will one day aflbrd the strongest argument in favour of 
my position, that the arrangement is a defective one, by which, 
in an institution for the purposes answered by Heriot's, the 
classics are made the basis of instruction. At present, other 
grounds are stronger. 

The mathematical instruction includes arithmetic, through 
fractions, and elementary algebra and geometry, and is upon 
the plan generally followed in the higher schools, and in part 
of the universities of Scotland. Oral explanations are given 
by the teacher, and examjiles are worked by the pupils, in con- 
cert or individually, by the teacher performing the work, or 
drawing the figures, on a black board, at the dictation of the 
boy. This mode is accompanied by the working of examples, 
by the pupil, on the slate, but so far as the mechanical opera- 
tions are executed by the teacher the pupil is deprived of the 
means of acquiring dexterity in writing or drawing figures, 
and of ideas of proportion, and thus loses the opportunity of the 
education of both the hand and eye. This method, further, ren- 
ders the knowledge of the pupils somewhat uncertain, since the 
operation of the master may precede the direction of the pupil ; 
and while it may be convenient in some cases, its general use 
appears to me injurious. Of this, I believe the intelligent mathe- 
matical master at Heriot's is fully satisfied. There are two 
special prizes for excellence in this department, which are 
awarded on competition. 

The mode of instruction in drawing is the same as that used 
in the Prussian schools, and to which attention has been called 
in Scotland by the able Secretary of the Royal Society of Edin- 
burgh, Sir John Robison. The boys, after learning the first 
elements of linear drawing, draw from models; a simple per- 
spective machine being used to give them an idea of the princi- 
})les which they are to put in practice. At first, simple solids, 



heriot's hospital. 25 

bounded by straight and curved lines, are set before them, and 
drawn upon the slate. Then mouldings, and, gradually, more 
complex combinations of surfaces are given, and are drawn 
upon paper with the crayon or pencil. This method forms the 
eye admirably, but does little, I may say nothing, to improve the 
taste. Hence, it is rejected by some. Nevertheless it appears 
to me admirably adapted for the ordinary purposes of life, and 
especially for the use of those engaged in mechanical pursuits, 
and much superior to the system of linear drawing from engrav- 
ings, taught in the primary schools of France. The method 
has the further advantage, that almost every pupil is able to 
acquire some proficiency in mechanical drawing and sketching 
by it. Every boy must attend this class for at least twelve 
months before leaving the institution. When I visited the hos- 
pital, the hours interfered much with those of other departments. 

There is a writing lesson, of at least one hour a day, for each 
class, and two prizes for excellence have been established by a 
late governor. 

Religious and Moral Instruction. The positive religious in- 
struction is given by the study of the Bible, the Evidences of 
Christianity, and the Catechism of the Church of Scotland. 
Family worship also is held morning and evening. On Sunday, 
in addition, the pupils are occupied one hour in the morning 
in the study of the Church Catechism, or of a Bible lesson or 
hymn, which they recite in the evening, and they attend 
church twice during the day. Besides this, the discipline of 
the school, repressing what is amiss, and encouraging virtue, 
acts of course powerfully; the example of the elder boys, and 
the good order which prevails, tend to produce regular habits. 
The results of this combined moral education are to be found 
in the records of the character of the pupils, when they are no 
longer under the fostering care of the institution; and the an- 
swers to the queries before referred to, in regard to the conduct 
of the young men, given by the masters to whom they are ap- 
prenticed, and by those with whom they lodge, exhibit these 
results in a highly satisfactory point of view. Of forty-seven 
sets of answers, forty were entirely to the credit of the younc; 
4 



26 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

men, on the part of the masters, and forty-six on the part of the 
persons with whom they lodged. Of the seven falHng under 
censure, three had not made satisfactory progress in their busi- 
ness; two were, in addition, absent sometimes; one was com- 
plained of as not doing his errands punctually, and only one 
w\is of the class considered decidedly vicious. 

I have found no subject of discipline, in regard to wdiich more 
diversity of opinion exists, than as to the appropriate amount of 
intercourse with relatives to be allowed during the stay of a boy 
in these establishments. On the one hand, the importance of 
not breaking such natural ties as the boy may have, is obvi- 
ous; and, on the other, the injury resulting from bad counsel, 
undue indulgence, and even, in some cases, bad example, be- 
comes not less so from experience. According as one or other 
of these disadvantages predominates in the teacher's mind, he 
is favourable or not to frequent intercourse with relatives. In 
Heriot's Hospital, the pupils cannot leave the house for the 
purpose of visiting their friends oflener than once in three 
weeks, unless under special circumstances, of which the house- 
governor is the judge. Those wdio live in town are received 
at the door of the house by a relation, who is charged with their 
return at the appointed time. Those whose relatives live in 
the country have, if the visiting committee, or house-governor, 
see no objection thereto, a vacation of three Vk'ceks during the 
month of August. The relatives who reside in Edinburgh, are 
not allowed to visit the pupils unless when called to the house 
by the governor, or when their boys are sick. Those who re- 
side in the country, must obtain permission from the house- 
governor to make visits. So much depends upon the charac- 
ter of the relatives and connexions of the youth, that it appears 
to me no other rule, than to give to some officer a discretionary 
power to permit the absence of pupils, can be adopted, until the 
particular circumstances of the institution are carefully studied. 

To keep in remembrance the good deed of the founder of 
the school, the first Monday of June is celebrated as his birth- 
day. 

Closely connected with the intellectual and moral education 



heriot's hospital. 27 

stand the rewards and punishments adopted in the institution. 
These consist of places in the class, and in the superintendence 
over their fellows in the house, in induls-ences of visiting or re- 
ceiving friends, in prizes for proficiency or good conduct, in the 
greater or less extent of their instruction while in the house, in 
pecuniary allowances during their apprenticeship, or to enable 
them to pursue a university education, and in assistance even af- 
ter their apprenticeship. Those boys who are at the high-school, 
preparatory to entering the university, lodge in the house ; an 
arrangement which I saw extended with great effect at Am- 
sterdam, and elsewhere in Holland, to all the pupils who are 
apprenticed in the city. The regulations require that, "the 
more degrading kinds of corporal punishment shall be as sel- 
dom as possible resorted to," and yet counteract the good effect 
of this provision by directing that " they shall not be infhcted 
in the private classes, but only in what is called 'the public 
school,' in presence of the house-governor," thus rendering the 
degradation most certain by the publicity of the punishment. It 
is true, these chastisements are rarely inflicted, and the regula- 
tions provide that "they shall not be resorted to for mere lite- 
rary negligence, if unaccompanied by moral blame." The 
house-governor has great latitude in regard to the character 
of the punishments, and I am sure exercises a sound discretion 
in reference to them. 

There can be no doubt that it is more dangerous to blunt the 
sensibilities of a youth to moral reproof, than to harden him by 
corporal chastisement. Hence such chastisements may be 
preferable in certain cases, where reproof has failed, to a con- 
tinuance of the attempt to correct by admonition. This sup- 
poses it to be administered in private, without temper, and as a 
last resort. Some dispositions are better acted upon by the depri- 
vation of indulgences by confinement, and similar penalties of 
this class, where remonstrances have failed; while others require 
something more immediate in its action. In many schools in 
England, where the rod was once freely used, it has been almost, 
and in others entirely, latd aside. In schools like these, where 
the youth is entirely dependent upon the institution, I am fiilly 



28 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

persuaded that, with proper treatment, it need be resorted to 
very seldom, if at all. Few dispositions are not open to kind- 
ness, especially under these circumstances, and no master has 
the qualities appropriate to such an institution who prefers the 
repulsive sj'stem to the encouraging. 1 refer to the example 
of the English schools because they have held out longest 
against the modern improvements in discipline, and their relin- 
quishment of such means is a stronger argument than could be 
derived from the more gentle discipline of the continent. The 
spirit of kindness between master and pupil which exists in 
many of the continental schools, the confidence that renders 
him, as it were, the head of a family circle, are delightful to wit- 
ness, and insures, better than stripes, the obedience of his pupils. 
I believe that this species of discipline, which leads the pupil 
instead of driving him, may be considered as particularly con- 
genial to the American character. The governors of Heriot's 
say that "it is earnestly recommended, that as far as possible, 
preventions of fault be emplo3'ed; and that gentle treatment be 
practised with the children." Thus, as far as their recommenda- 
tion goes, they are on the side where I should prefer to range 
myself. There is one point in w^iich the teachers at Heriot's 
have not the means of acquiring that moral control over the boys 
which would smooth many of tiieir difficulties; the education 
during the play hours is not attended to by them. It is true that 
each of the teachers, in rotation, is responsible for the order of 
the house ; but he has not the immediate superintendence of the 
boys. In such an institution especially, this is of importance, 
and the many hours of occupation in teaching, which prevents 
the intimacy of the masters with the boys during periods of 
relaxation, is a serious disadvantage. That such an intimacy 
is extremely important to moral training, no sound educator now 
doubts; and it is certain that much teaching in school is not equi- 
valent to moderate training out of school, to form the moral man. 
Servants cannot supply the place of the teacher. The general 
principle which I would here inculcate, is distinctly recognised 
in some of the best training-schools which T have seen, and 



heriot's hospital. 29 

renders the infant-school system of moral training in Scotland 
so perfect. 

Physical Education. A due attention to this branch, though 
full}' insisted upon in all modern works on education, and com- 
manding from the common sense of every one a ready assent 
as an abstract proposition, is yet strangely neglected in many 
establishments which 1 have visited. The clothing and diet, 
at Heriot's Hospital, are good in quality, and ample in quantity, 
and cleanliness is sufficiently attended to. The linen is changed 
thrice a week, the stockings as often in summer, two suits of 
over-clothes* are allowed a year, and are an adequate supply, 
in a climate where very slight changes are required for comfort 
in the different seasons. The bed linen is frequently changed. 

The arrangements of the lavatory for the pupils are good, 
each lad having the means of washing and wiping separately 
from the rest, and the opportunities of bathing are furnislied in 
warm weather.f The boys are brushed and combed daily. 
The cleanliness in the dormitories, school-rooms, &c., appeared 
to me satisfactory, and the ventilation of the former is unex- 
ceptionable, and is made the subject of a distinct regulation, re- 
quiring the bed clothes to be "drawn" from the hour of rising, 
(six in summer and seven in winter) until ten A. M., and the 
windows to be kept open until three P. M. in winter, and seven 
P. M. in summer. I have already remarked upon the imper- 
fect ventilation of the school-rooms. The pupils walk out fre- 
quently in summer, five or six miles, and make excursions dur- 

* The allowance of other clolliing per annum, is three day-shirts, one night- 
shirt of check, four pairs of stockings, two pairs of suspenders, four pairs of shoes 
and mending, two pocket-handkerchiefs. The latter are looped to a button in 
the pocket to preserve them, and must be shown at the daily morning inspec- 
tion. The making and mending of the shoes, and making of upper clothes, is 
contracted for. The uniform, when I visited the school, consisted of a brown 
coatee, which they intended to change for a roundabout, corduroy pantaloons, 
and a cloth vest. 

t The change in these respects, within the memory of some most respectable 
citizens of Edinburgh, is truly surprising. In former days, all washed from one 
vessel, and wiped on one long towel I The influence upon moral training of a 
state of physical education which permitted such things, must have been great. 
The practices, of course, tended to the propagation of cutaneous diseases. 



30 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

ing the three weeks' holiday of August, when about two-thirds of 
the school are still together, to Roslin and Stirling. A system of 
gymnastics was adopted some years since, for affording regular 
and graduated muscular exercises, but it has fallen entirely into 
disuse. After the novelty had worn off", the boys grew weary 
of the exercises, and greatly preferred the ordinary sports of 
the schools. I have had occasion to remark, as applying to 
the English schools in general, that the gymnastic exercises, 
so popular in some parts of Germany and Switzerland, had 
not taken root in any of them, though in many they had 
been introduced, and well and carefully taught. At the same 
time, nothing is more characteristic of the English school-boy, 
than his fondness for exercise in the different games of the 
schools. The greatest number of play hours is three per day, 
according to a schedule furnished me, and this seems to me, 
from comparison with the other schools, quite too small, es- 
pecially for the younger boys ; and the unbroken succession of 
several hours in school, is also objectionable. The amount 
of time which these boys are employed in the class-room, fre- 
quently reaching for the elder ones to eight hours a day, and 
the variety of subjects brought before them in their short course, 
at the longest but seven years, appears from observation to be 
highly detrimental to intellectual development. It is, indeed, 
said to diminish the amount of repressive discipline necessary 
in the institution, by taming the spirit by over intellectual work, 
but a saving of this sort is a real loss. It is probable that 
the diet, and limited amount of exercise at Ilcriot's, may also 
have something to do with the absence of youthful buoyancy and 
activity which I noticed among the pupils. The practice of 
giving a luncheon of bread in tlie interval between each of the 
three regular meals will not explain, as I first supposed it 
would, this observation, since it does not involve necessarily 
any excess of food. And besides, I found the same practice in 
schools in Germany, where a like effect is not observable. It 
prepares the pupils badly, however, for their diet in after life. 
The kind and quantity of food will be found stated in the Ap- 
pendix (No. VII.) The boys do none of the menial work of ihe 



heriot's hospital. 31 

house, and even that relating to them personally is attended to 
by servants. The dormitories are cleaned, the beds made, the 
arrangements for meals provided and removed, the clothes are 
brushed, shoes cleaned, &c., by the servants of the institu- 
tion. These boys, brought up thus to be waited upon instead of 
waiting on themselves, must, when they leave the school, find 
their position of attending to the wants of others particularly irk- 
sonie. Indeed, many of those persons who receive tiiem as ap- 
prentices, judging by the awkwardness with which these and 
other common affairs of life are attended to by them, underrate 
exceedingly tiie results of their education. This effect is in- 
creased by their ignorance of ordinary life. The masters hav- 
ing no families, those boys who never leave the school have no 
opportunity of witnessing any other than the peculiar modifica- 
tion of society which the hospital aflbrds, and even those who 
do visit their friends, form only such an acquaintance with life 
as a few weeks in each year can give. 

In the only government school of our country, the Military 
Academy at West Point, where youths are received, whose pa- 
rents are in all the various circumstances of life, an opposite 
plan is pursued in regard to the duties of the house and personal 
police ; and I have reason to know, from personal experience 
and an extensive acquaintance with its graduates, that the inde- 
pendent habits thus produced are retained by many as among 
the most convenient results of their early training. 

From the documents so liberally put at my disposal in 
Heriot's Hospital, I had an opportunity to examine an 
interesting question on its tendency to remove the pupils 
from the class, as to occupation, of their parents, and to 
place them in others requiring a higher grade of mental 
cultivation. The registers for the last three years contain 
the pursuits of the father of each pupil admitted, and the 
occupation of the pupils who have left the institution. The 
fathers of sixty-seven out of seventy-three boys were tradesmen 
or shopkeepers. Of the sons, fifty-six became tradesmen or 
shopkeepers, six followed other occupations, ten were not stated 
on the book, and two had died. Distributing this number of 



32 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

twelve, in the ratio of fifty-six to six, we have sixty-six to 
seven, nearly, as the ratio of those who followed the trades to 
those who went into other occupations, or nearly the same as 
above stated in the case of the parents of the pupils. Of these 
boys, the number who have embraced the same occupation as 
the father, he being alive, is eleven, and he being dead, two, in 
all thirteen. This tendency in the old country, for the son to 
follow in his father's footsteps, is of course much greater than in 
ours, but it amounts only to thirteen in sixty-two in the case un- 
der discussion. While, then, the education at Heriot's has been 
freely spoken of as refiection prompted me, I do not find any 
evidence that, under the circumstances which exist in Edin- 
burgh, it can be charged with a tendency unduly to increase the 
professional classes. 

Exactly an opposite objection has been urged against the in- 
stitution, viz. that from its foundation to the present day it has 
not produced a single greAit man, in any department. That it 
has furnished many useful citizens, and some, who in their places 
have been distinguished, is certain. To use the language of a 
most excellent divine of Edinburgh, "if it has not produced 
distinguished men, it has infused into the industrious classes a 
considerable number of sober, steady citizens." Many of these 
have risen to civic honours, and become governors of the insti- 
tution which, in their youth, had fostered them. A desire to 
subject it to the test of producing results to which education is 
entirely incompetent, is rather preposterous. School systems 
may aid in developing mind, but it is not their province to pro- 
duce it. They address themselves to averages of intellect, all 
of which are below greatness. 

GEORGE WATSON'S HOSPITAL. 
This institution, which was modelled on Heriot's hospital, re- 
sembles it in its general outline; there are, however, some dif- 
ferences which will be worth remarking, especially as I am 
inclined to think that the proper relations between the pupils 
and their teachers are here better understood. It is true that 
Heriot's contains between two and three times as many boys as 



GEORGE Watson's hospital. 33 

the Watsons', and the difficulty of treating them as individuals, 
increases greatly with the numbers. 

History, Building, ^c. This institution was founded by George 
Watson, who, by strict economy and prudence, first in the situa- 
tion of a clerk, and then trading on his own account, died an 
independent and even, for the times, a wealthy man. After lega- 
cies to his few surviving relatives, he left the bulk of his estates, 
£12,000, to found a house of education* for the children of de- 
cayed merchants of Edinburgh. The present plain structure 
was erected about 1724, by the company of merchants and 
other trustees of the bequest, on a lot belonging to Heriot's 
Hospital, and opposite to that edifice. 

The organization of the Board of Governors who direct this 
establishment, is quite similar to that already described for He- 
riot's, being however more simple, because they have less pro- 
perty, and a smaller institution to manage. The office of trea- 
surer is now only an honorary appointment. 

General Economy. The head master performs the duties of 
the house-governor at Heriot's, and the matron that of both ma- 
tron and stewardess. They each receive, in advance, a sum 
for incidental expenses, of which the master renders an account 
to the visiting committee, and the matron to the master. The 
contractors for supplies render their accounts quarterly to the 
head master, who examines them, and if approved, hands them 
over to the treasurer. 

There are two porters, one of whom must be a tailor. He is 
a married man, and his wife receives an allowance for keeping 
the gate. The porters in turn have charge of the boys at play 
hours, of their rising and going to bed, and one superintends 
their bathing while the other sends them by sections to the 
bath. 

Admission, <^c. These boys are, in general, sons of persons 
who have had more cultivation than the parents of those who 
are the objects of Heriot's bounty; more is required of them 

* The income is now between Ihirty-thicc and (hirly-four thousand dollars. 
5 



34 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

for admission, and tliey are older when they enter.* Those 
teachers who knew both institutions, generally thought that 
the greater docility of character observable in the pupils 
of Watson's Hospital, resulted from their better parentage; but 
I confess that this idea made little impression on me, as the 
different management of the boys in the two schools would be 
likely to produce the very results which have given rise to 
the supposition. The requirements for admission are reading, 
and a certificate that the child has been one year at school 
if admitted at seven, two years if admitted at eight, and so on up 
to eleven, the greatest age at which he can be received. The 
pupils may thus remain in the school eight years or only four, 
being required to leave it at fifteen. The less age at entering 
is in favour of Heriot's; but it must be considered that the boys 
at Watson's are, in general, those who have a parent, or 
parents, and may have been well though humbly brought up 
before entering. I am, therefore, disposed to think that we 
may reason upon the results produced in the two houses as 
though the circumstances, in reference to the pupils, were ori- 
ginally the same. 

The objects to be attained are, however, very difl^erent. 
These boys are intended to be educated as merchants, or for 
professions. The records which I was enabled, by the kind- 
ness of the head master,f to consult, showed that out of ninety- 
four boys who were apprenticed on leaving the school, fifteen 
were indentured to merchants, twenty as clerks, nine to profes- 
sional men, six to occupations of other kinds, and forty-four, only, 
to tradesmen or shopkeepers. In Heriot's, the number appren- 
ticed to tradesmen or shopkeepers was in the proportion of 



* The following certificates are required to be presented with the application 
for admission. 1. That the father or grandfather of the applicant was a mer- 
chant, or brother of the guild, from the dean of guild. 2. Of indigence, from two 
respectable individuals, besides the minister of the parish, and the kirk-session. 
3. An extract from the register of birth and baptism, certifying the age. This 
provision excludes illegitimate children. 4. Of the time which tlie boy has been 
in school. 

+ The Rev. Mr. Munro. 



GEORGE WATSON S HOSPITAL. 35 

eighty-five out of ninety-four. This leads us to consider the 
kind of education which is given for the principal object of this 
institution, 

Intelkctual Education. It seems to me that the resu- 
lations recognise the principle that certain branches may 
be less useful for particular pursuits than others; and yet, 
the instruction varies from Heriot's only in being rather 
higher, in carrying the pupil further in classics, both in Latin 
and Greek, and in geography and history. The modern lan- 
guages are not more particularly insisted on, and the courses, 
in general, in the English branches, arithmetic, &c., are not 
very different from those in the other school, though they 
seem rather better digested. 

There is the same over-working of the pupils with a similar 
effect, a fact which I found admitted by all the masters, though, 
as they had a certain course to teach, and on the average 
but six years for its accomplishment, they saw no remedy. 
The same over-tasking of the masters, and low salaries, lower, 
indeed, except in one case, than in Heriot's, on account of 
which changes were frequent. There is, further, the same in- 
junction to celibacy. The teachers are here promoted in rota- 
tion; and, although the head master had been but three years 
in the institution, he had passed through the two subordinate 
stations. This regular promotion has several very good fea- 
tures, as applied to the two subordinate masters; but, in refe- 
rence to the head master, it produces unfavourable results, as he 
is required frequently to give instruction in branches to which 
he may not previously have attended. With one hundred and 
eighty boys, as at Heriot's, the discipline and superintendence 
are sufficient to occupy one person exclusively: but such is 
not the case with the limited number of pupils in this institution. 
There are, here, three resident masters for seventy-six boys, 
and in Heriot's, five for one hundred and eighty, the advantage 
being on the side of this school. The resident teachers instruct 
in classics, English, and mathematics, the latter courses being 
under the charge of the head master, who also teaches the 
elements of chemistry. The pupils are divided into three cor- 



36 ELEEMOSYNARY IXSTITUTIONS. 

responding classes. There are no formal meetings of the mas- 
ters as a board, but the three have similar duties, and take 
turns each in superintending the pupils at meals, in the dormi- 
tories, and, in general, at play. Further, the head master is 
neither raised above the others by being a governor, nor by 
various minute regulations, as at Heriot's, and hence all work 
more harmoniously together. There is a peculiarity well 
deserving of notice in regard to the courses here, and I have 
seen the same in several flourishing institutions of the con- 
tinent. The courses and text-books are not permanently laid 
down, but every year are passed upon by the education commit- 
tee of the governors, on the presentation of a list by the head 
master. The programme is, in fact, made out after consultation 
with the other masters; but there is no regulation requiring the 
head master to advise with them, which, as a matter of duty, 
and not of his own pleasure, he ought to do. That this revision is 
necessary every year may be doubted, but in an old estab- 
lished institution, where routine is prone to take the place of 
reasoning, and where it is so difficult to keep the courses up to 
the actual level of education in general, it may be fairly as- 
sumed that the error, if any, is on the proper side. The prizes 
for intellectual effort and conduct are quite high in this estab- 
lishment, and their effect is considered to be very great. They 
consist in the distribution of about £20 (f 100) in books, after 
the annual examination; the inscription of the name of the boy, 
who is distinguished in most of the classes for correctness 
of conduct, on a tablet in the governor's room; and in allow- 
ing those who are fit to pursue the course of the university, one 
hundred dollars for four years, to attend there, and eighty-five 
dollars for two years subsequently, their examinations and con- 
duct being satisfactory to the committee on education. Un- 
married pupils of the age of twenty-five years, who are not 
provided with capital to commence business, may receive from 
the governors, on presenting satisfactory testimonials, two hun- 
dred and fifty dollars. Thus encouragement is held out to 
merit long after the pupils have left the protection of the 
alma mater. Those who are apprenticed to lawyers, surgeons, 



GEORGE Watson's hospital. 37 

dkc, are enabled, by a like liberal policy, to pny the large fees 
required in such cases. 

Moral Education. I have already hinted that I consider the 
relation existing between the teachers and boys at George 
Watson's to be an agreeable one. The general system by 
which this result is produced depends, in part, upon the regu- 
lations, but essentially upon the personal character of the mas- 
ters. Frequent walks are taken under the direction of the mas- 
ters, depending upon the previous good conduct of the whole 
school. Ten or a dozen boys are invited to take tea in the 
teacher's room during his term of duty as house-master, the ex- 
penses being defrayed by the institution. Encouragement is 
given to their sports, to gardening, &c. A prize for good con- 
duct is bestowed by the boys themselves, and, in fine, there is 
a general endeavour to substitute the influence of the good 
opinion of the instructors for artificial stimulus to intellectual 
exertion and good conduct. Though the punishments ap- 
proved are mainly the cutting ofl" of indulgences, yet flogging 
is allowed; the -article in reference to the corporal punishment 
in a "public school" at Heriot's, in regard to which I felt con- 
strained to remark, is here so far modified, that the head mas- 
ter's presence in a private class is the necessary formality. 

Those pupils whose conduct has been satisfactory during the 
week, are allowed, under certain regulations, to visit their pa- 
rents or relatives every Saturday. The teachers believe, from 
observation, that these frequent visits are of service ; their con- 
clusions, however, depend much, no doubt, upon the average 
character of the relatives of the boys. 

Physical Education. Regular gymnastic exercises have never 
been introduced here, but the boys are supplied with balls, bat- 
tledores, &c., and receive lessons in dancing. Their excur- 
sions in summer for several days, frequent walks, bathing once 
a week, cultivation of gai'dens, and habitual cleanliness, keep 
them in general good health. The arrangements for clothing* 



* The boys wear green jackets, or roundabouts, the elder ones with a vest of 
the same, the young-er with the jacket and pantaloons buttoned together. Cor- 



38 ELEEMOSYNARY mSTITUTIONS. 

and diet are, in the main, the same as at Heriot's. They 
are, however, more troubled here with eruptions on the head. 
Some institutions are much annoyed by this scourge, which 
requires almost absolutely the separation of the infected from 
his class-mates. The cultivation of gardens is encouraged by 
an annual prize; the gardens are divided into four parts, and 
each one given to an individual of the same class; the four thus 
in partnership compete with the similar divisions into which 
the school is distributed. 

There is a vacation of six weeks after the yearly examina- 
tion in August, during which one of the masters remains in the 
house, with such pupils as have no friends to receive them, or 
who, from other causes, do not leave the establishment. 

The dormitories, in general, are not well arranged. Two 
boys are placed in each bed, and the rooms locked up at night, 
the head master having the keys. If a boy is sick, there is a 
bell to summon assistance. These arrangements appear to me 
to be very defective. The bedsteads are of iron, and answer 
extremely well. 



JOHN WATSON'S INSTITUTION. 

This is the most recent school of its kind in Edinburgh, 
having been organized in 1828, and thus the experience which 
it furnishes on certain points must be most valuable to the 
board. One of these is, the expediency, and, indeed, the neces- 
sity, of the gradual organization of an institution; and the 
other, the propriety of leaving the regulations relating to details 
to be tried in the actual circumstances of the establishment be- 
fore enacting them into laws. By following out these two ideas, 
this institution has been organized, brought under its present 

duroy pantaloons. Leather caps for the house, and cloth for the street. These 
leather caps, which fit closely to the head, arc very injurious, tending, apparently, 
to produce diseases of the head. 

The clothes are naarked, not only with a number, which the boy receives at 
entrance, but with his name : tlie effect of the latter provision, in securing to 
the boy his individuality, is not to be neglected. 



JOHN Watson's institution. 39 

good regulation, and its numbers increased to one hundred 
and sixteen pupils,* with very few unpleasant circumstances. 
It cannot, however, be said to have yet taken its ultimate form, 
and I feel persuaded that many modifications will still be made 
in its arrangements. 

History, Building, <^'C. This establishment, for the education 
of destitute children from any part of Scotland, was founded 
from fundsf left by John Watson, of Edinburgh, a writer to 
the signet, J in the year 1763. The present capital is chiefly 
in bank stocks, and exceeds three hundred and fifty thou- 
sand dollars; the yearly income is about fifteen thousand 
dollars. The building is situated a little out of the city of 
Edinburgh, towards the northwest, occupies a high and healthy 
position, and is surrounded by grounds neatly laid out, having 
a garden in front, and in rear play grounds for the children, 
and a bleaching ground. It is a neat structure, with a centre 
and wings, the centre having in front a Grecian Doric portico. 
One of the wings is appropriated to the accommodation of the 
girls, and the other to that of the boys, with some few excep- 
tions. I shall speak only of the boys' accommodations. The 
interior is commodiously arranged: the basement contains a 
play-room for wet weather, a bathing-room, laundry, refec- 
tory, kitchen, pantr}^, masters' offices, and parlour. This play- 
room is almost an essential, as the school-rooms should not be 
used for that purpose, and, in bad weather, tlie children must 
have cover either in or out of the building. The bath is well 
arranged. Between the kitchen and dining-room is a conve- 
nient turning-box for supplying the food, transferring the plates, 



* Of these, nineteen have lost both parents, seventy-two father, one mother, 
and eight have both parents alive. 

t The original object of the testator was a foundling hospital. Convinced of 
iLe evil of such institutions, a change in the objectsof the bequest was petitioned 
for, and made by Parliament. 

t Attorneys entitled to practice iti the highest civil and criminal courts of 
Scotland, and forming the society of "Clerks or Writers to the Signet." The 
title is derived from the fact that it is one of the privileges of these attorneys to 
subscribe llie writs which pass the royal signet in Scotland. 



40 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

6tc. On the first floor are the rooms of the master and assist- 
ants, of the governors, the chapel, and three school-rooms. An 
attempt has been made to heat the house by warm air thrown 
into the entries, but this has not been effectual; the school-rooms 
are cold, and the temperature cannot be kept up except at the 
expense of the ventilation. The second floor contains working- 
rooms for the boys, dormitories, rooms for the sick, and offices, 
matrons' apartments, &c. The whole house is lighted by gas, 
and is supplied with water from the city works, two most im- 
portant conveniences, which I found highly appreciated by 
those who had previously been without them. 

General Government and Dojnestic Economy. The general 
government is vested in fifteen trustees, of whom three go out 
every year in rotation ; they are elected by the commissioners 
of the writers to the signet, and meet regularly but three times 
a year. They have a treasurer, a clerk, and assistant, as per- 
manent salaried ofiiccrs, and are divided into visiting com- 
mittees of two, who are expected to visit the hospital every 
fortnight. 

The officers recognised by the regulations are: a master and 
one assistant, a matron, a surgeon, and a steward. The mas- 
ter* is responsible for all the in-door concerns, superintending 
the boys more particularly, and having the religious instruction 
specially under his charge. The matron has the care of the 
girls, and attends to the housekeeping concerns. The master 
keeps a petty expense book, a waste-book, and ledger, and the 
matron a book of disbursements for housekeeping. The sur- 
geon visits the institution regularly twice a week, and comes 
also whenever sent for. 

The servants of the house consist of a porter, two nurses, 
three house-maids, four chamber-maids, one cook, and an assist- 
ant. The porter has charge of the gate and grounds, calls the 
boys in the morning, superintends them while washing, morning 
and evening, at play, and when they bathe, and assists at meals. 

* The present licad master is the Rev. Mr. Marsliall, to whose kindness I am 
indebted for information relating to the institution. 



JOHN watsjon's Institution. 41 

One of the nurses attends specially to the cleanliness of the 
younger boys, and in general to the police of the elder ones. 
The annual average cost of the maintenance and education of 
each child is about one hundred and nineteen dollars. The 
uniting of the two sexes in one establishment for education, 
however favourable it may be at a very early age, is after- 
wards attended with so many difficulties, some of which are 
insurmountable, that the governors of this hospital have gra- 
dually diminished the number of female pupils, and the head 
master would gladly see the establishment divided into tw^o, 
neither the instruction nor disciphne which is suitable to one sex 
answering for the other. 

Receipt of Pupils and their Discharge. The pupils must be 
between five and eight years of age at entrance ; and it is very 
perceptible that the early age at which they are received is a 
decided advantage to this institution. Their pliability and ex- 
emption from bad habits are conditions which should not be 
lost sight of At the opening, twenty-five boys and twenty- 
six girls were admitted, and when they were trained during 
a year, a further admission took place. Notwithstanding 
the great care thus exercised to begin properly, and the abilities 
of the master, who excels in the kindly character most likely 
to win upon a child, the training of these twenty-five boys 
was not effected w'ithout much difficulty, and, in fact, three 
of them were expelled during this year. The first set being well 
trained, the others have fallen gradually in with the example of 
their elders, and no further expulsions have been necessary, 
though seventy-nine boys and sixty-six girls have been since 
admitted, up to 1836. In fact, the institution was begun on 
too large a scale, limited as its organization may have seemed. 

The admissions are made on petition to the governors, setting 
forth the destitution of the child, to establish which it is neces- 
sary to show that its parents or friends have not the means of 
furnishing a good education. The petitioners must include in 
their number a commissioner or writer to the signet. There 
are no requirements of previous instruction. Illegitimate or 
6 



42 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

diseased children, are not received. The pupil is first admitted 
on a week's probation, and if his moral and physical condition 
appear suited to the institution, he is then fully admitted; if not, 
his friends are bound to withdraw him. The pupils leave it 
at fourteen years of age, and there is no provision what- 
ever for their subsequent superintendence or advancement; 
if the children have friends who can take care of them, this is 
no great hardship, but such children do not seem to be 
the proper objects of charity. That the orphan should be 
thrown upon the world at this age, with ten pounds, and a 
Bible, does not seem to me judicious, and this part of the 
out-door establishment I should regret to see imitated. The re- 
sult has been, I was informed, to induce the selection of chil- 
dren of persons who have occupied higher stations and are 
reduced, in preference to others more destitute. Thus, out of 
ninety-eight children, the parents of twenty-two belonged to 
professions, forty-three followed other avocations, and thirty- 
three were tradesmen or shopkeepers. I am fully persuaded 
of the very great importance of keeping up a connexion until 
a later period of life, between the child and the institution, though 
it may be necessary to apprentice him to a trade at fourteen or 
fifteen years of age ; and in a future part of this Report the prac- 
tice in reference to this, of some of the orphan-houses of Hol- 
land, is fully explained. 

Intellectual Education. The course of instruction proposed 
by the head master is very comprehensive; indeed, much more 
so than I believe the time will allow to be carried through, 
without distracting the mind of the pupil by the diversity of sub- 
jects presented to his notice. This plan of instruction is an 
extension of that at Heriot's, and offers a very systematic ar- 
rangement of the branches, and a detailed distribution of 
the time. (See Appendix, No. V.) Only a portion of the 
plan, however, is executed, and I am satisfied that such must 
continue to be the case, unless an arrangement is made by 
which diflerent trains of instruction shall be pursued by differ- 
ent sets of pupils, according to their mental development and 



JOHN Watson's iNSTiTUTiofr. 43 

probable pursuits in after life. The course includes spelling, 
reading, grammar, composition, writing, plain and ornamental, 
arithmetic, algebra, book-keeping, geography, general and 
particular, modern and ancient, history, modern and ancient, 
drawing in pencil, chalk, and colours, of maps, &c., the 
elements of natural philosophy and chemistry, and of natural 
history, geometry and mensuration, surveying, and the ele- 
ments of the Latin and Greek languages. 

The statutes of the school provide for the appointment of two 
teachers only, the head master and an assistant. It has been 
found necessary, however, to have, besides, two sub-assistants, 
one for each of the three classes into which the boys are 
divided, the head master exercising a general superintendence 
of the whole, and teaching only occasionally. To render 
comparison of the proficiency of different classes more easy, 
they all recite upon the same branches at the same time, as far 
as practicable; thus, for example, all the classes are engaged 
in arithmetic or reading, &c., at one time, and the head master 
passes from one to another to obtain an idea of their compara- 
tive progress. The present sub-assistants are young men, who 
have been brought up in the institution, and both, I believe, are 
attending the lessons of the high-school, preparatory to entering 
the university; the assistant was educated at Heriot's. Each 
teacher has, in general, charge of one class in several difl^erent 
branches, according to the method now practised in the best 
schools of Germany. In the other schools which I have spoken 
of, each master has a subject, or a few subjects, which he 
teaches, and different classes come before him at different 
times. This, it is objected, prevents any strong attachment from 
growing up between the children and the master, of whom they 
see but little, and who from hour to hour is changed for an- 
other. On the other hand, it is contended that a man cannot 
be equally competent to teach different subjects, and thus his 
iilstruction in all the branches is not given to the greatest ad- 
vantage. It appears to me that both the opinions are true, to 
a certain extent. That the first principle is entirely applicable 
to elementary education, and the second to a later period, when 



44 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

the subjects of instruction become more difficult, and the posi- 
tive knowledge of the master of more importance; and this hap- 
pens just at the time when the influence of the instructor would, 
from the development of the child, necessarily become weaker, 
and when, if the youth has been properly trained, he is pre- 
pared, in a degree, for self-government. Thus each principle 
is good in its place. 

The three classes are subdivided each into three sections, 
corresponding to the different degrees of progress, and which 
contain boys, when intelligent and studious, of about the fol- 
lowing ages: the first class of six, seven, and eight years of 
age; the second of nine, ten, and eleven; and the third of 
twelve, thirteen, and fourteen. The whole number of pupils 
in 1837 was one hundred and sixteen, of whom sixty-six were 
boys. Thirty-nine, therefore, composed an average class, 
which is about the same number as that of a class at Heriol's 
Hospital. 

The head master is here very far removed in duties, privi- 
leges, age, and compensation, from the under teachers, present- 
ing the opposite system from that adopted at Heriot's and George 
Watson's, of bringing together several experienced teachers of 
a standing similar to that of the head master. The plan in use 
here has some advantages in regard to moral education and 
discipline, where the number of the pupils is not large; but the 
other, I am satisfied, produces much better results as to intel- 
lectual development. 

Moral and Physical Education. It is exceedingly difficult to 
ascertain what is the essence of moral discipline, for, although 
the regulations in regard to it may be the same in two institu- 
tions, yet the practice under these may differ very vv^idely. 
Kindness or severity of manner and disposition, in enforcing a 
rule, may render it practically either gentle or severe. The 
regulations here do not dificr much from those of Heriot's 
or George Watson's, but the air of family life pervading the 
establishment cannot tail to strike every observ^er, while, in the 
others, especially in Heriot's, there appears to be more formality 
of discipline; and yet, in all three, the rules of the institutions 



JOHN Watson's institution. 45 

are adhered to. This is one of the cases in which the teacher 
may make or mar a system. The means of promoting 
good conduct are here as in the other schools ; for rewards, 
the approbation of the teachers, increased opportunities of 
amusement, social parties at the master's, and prizes; for pun- 
ishments, admonition, flogging, and expulsion. There are 
offices of superintendents in and out of school, in the dormito- 
ries, &c., which are considered also as rewards, and which 
work w^ell under close inspection, and by frequent change of 
the boys in authority. Small sums of pocket money are given 
by the head master, at his discretion, to the boys, and the 
supplies from parents or friends must be deposited with him for 
distribution. Two principles are adopted by the master in ad- 
ministering the regulations, which, probably, more than the laws 
themselves, lead to the state of things I have endeavoured to 
describe. First, small indulgences now and then prevent the 
necessity for grave punishments often repeated; and second, 
punishments must be so applied' as never to produce in the sub- 
ject of them the feeling that the measure of the fault has been 
fully paid; but, on the contrary, so as to satisfy him that some- 
thing has been forgiven. 

The religious instruction does not differ materially in amount 
and kind from that already described. 

There are no regular gymnastic exercises, but in the in- 
tervals of recreation the children engage in a great variety of 
games, the implements for wdiich are furnished by the master, 
and in which the teachers frequently take part w^ith good effect. 
The deprivation of these sports is made a means of punishment. 
The loan of materials for play, such as marbles, &c., obviates 
an objection sometimes urged to certain games of skill, viz. 
that they produce a sordid habit and love of gaming. The pu- 
pils walk out frequently, accompanied by a teacher, make 
"pic nic" excursions, and celebrate particular days. 

Cleanliness is carefully attended to; the face and hands are 
washed morning and evening, the feet once a week in winter, 
and oftener in summer, besides which the boys bathe; on these 
occasions the pupils are attended by a teacher and the porfei-. 



46 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

The arrangements lor washing are not good ; basins of tinned 
copper have been tried, which do not answer well, and a trough 
is required for the feet. Inspection is made every morning in 
regard to cleanliness, and the due order of their dress. Scald 
heads are frequent as at George Watson's, and the same means 
of eradicating and preventing the disease from spreading, 
are employed. The leather caps in use fitting closely to the 
head, contribute, I doubt not, to the complaint. The diet is the 
same as at Heriot's, except that here nothing is taken in the 
intervals of the regular meals. The two sub-assistants eat with 
the boys. 

The pupils do no menial offices in the house, except that of 
cleaning shoes, which is done for the whole family by a cer- 
tain number of the elder boys in rotation, who rise earlier than 
the others for this purpose. 

Each boy has a separate bed, except in the dormitories for 
the youngest, where there are two in a bed, and of which a 
nurse has charge. In the other dormitories, one of the sub- 
assistants sleeps, or one of the elder boys has charge of the 
dormitory, and the assistant sleeps near. 

The clothing is similar to that at George Watson's. The 
leather caps are, however, to be laid aside, and cloth ones sub- 
stituted. 

Order of the Day. The order by which the distribution of 
duties is regulated, presents peculiarities, in the succession of 
study and play, well worthy of attention. The following is for 
the winter season. The pupils rise at seven ; from seven to half 
past, washing and dressing. Half past seven to eight, have 
prayers. Eight to nine, school. Nine to quarter past nine, 
breakfast. Quarter past nine to ten, play. Ten to half past 
eleven, school. Half past eleven to twelve, play. Twelve to 
one, school. One to half past one, dinner. Half past one to 
three, play. Three to five, school. Five to six, play. Six to 
seven, school. Seven to a quarter past seven, supper. Quar- 
ter past seven to eight, play. Eight to half past eight, prayers. 
Half past eight to nine, wash and go to bed. 

The happy eifect of the judicious variety in studv and exer- 



cauvin's hospital. 47 

cise, and of the moral discipline of this institution, are proved 
by the cheerful character of its pupils, and their general health 
and spirits. The hours of study in this plan are six and a half, 
and of play four and a half, during the day of fourteen hours, 
while at George Watson's they study nine hours, and even 
sometimes more. 

There is a vacation for about four weeks in the month of July, 
and the children may be visited once in three weeks by their 
parents, for two hours at a time. The master here is confident 
as to the bad effects of allowing the children to leave the insti- 
tution, for the purpose of visiting parents or friends; in regard to 
which, however, I have nothing new to remark. 

CAUVIN'S HOSPITAL. 

This institution was founded in 1832, pursuant to the Will of 
Lewis Cauvin, a teacher of French, in Edinburgh; and is intend- 
ed for the education and maintenance of the sons of teachers 
and farmers. As the founder was himself a teacher, and the 
want of seminaries for teachers was most deeply felt in Scot- 
land, the trustees of Cauvin's determined that the new institution 
should contribute, as far as practicable, to the supply of this- 
want. 

The children enter between the ages of six and eight years,, 
and nearly all those now in the institution have been there about 
four years; the twenty pupils required to complete the founda- 
tion* having been admitted at once. It is not possible at this 
early date to draw a positive inference as to the success of the 
school, and especially of its primary object. The character of 
the trustees may, however, be considered as a guarantee for 
the first, and, in reference to the second, there are already indi- 
cations that three or four out of the twenty boys now in the 
establishment will probably have a disposition for the pro- 
fession towards which it would incline them. It may be 
important to remark, that as these boys can only be at the 
charge of the school until fourteen years of age, and as this is 

* The income is about five thousand dollars per annum. 



48 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

too short a time to complete their education, those who are 
most promising will perform their novitiate as teachers in the 
hospital, thus continuing their education, while they serve as 
instructors to those younger than themselves. 

I shall recur to this topic, of the use of orphan-schools as 
seminaries for teachers, in spealdng of the Orphan-house of 
Hamburgh. Our country is one that especially calls for every 
effort to interest well educated young men to adopt a profes- 
sion, the proper exercise of which is of such high importance to 
our future prospects and the permanency of our institutions. 

The implements of instruction in this establishment are better 
than in any other of the same kind which I saw in Scotland ; 
they have obtained the most approved maps, &c.,* from abroad 
as well as at home, and have already the rudiments of a col- 
lection of natural history. 

I have appended certain documents, relating to the form of 
application for admission to this school, (Appendix, No. VI.,) 
which may be useful for reference. 

LIVERPOOL BLUE-COAT SCHOOL. 

This institution, in point of order and regularity, is one of the 
best which I have seen; and, as a study of how far an estab- 
lishment may be carried on by the force of routine, interested 
me very much. At the time of my visit the head master was 
absent, and the boys' department was entirely under the charge 
of a young teacher, formerly a pupil of the school. This cir- 
cumstance was very favourable for judging of the point to 
which I have just referred. The arrangements have a military 
precision about them which is very striking; and if the object of 
a school were to perform, as much as possible, with very 
limited means,f the organization of this one would serve as an 

* These collections were made under the direction of Professor Pillans, of the 
University of Edinburgh, one of the trustees, and to whose influence is mainly 
due the direction given to tlie studies of tlie youth in Cauvin's institution. 

t Each child costs for maintenance and instruction less than fifty dollars per 
annum. At the Orphan Hospital at Edinburgh, each costs between sixty-five and 
seventy dollars. At John Watson's one hundred and nineteen, and at Cauvin's 
two hundred and fifty dollars. 



LIVERPOOL BLUE-COAT SCHOOL. 49 

excellent model. Though successful in producmg a considera- 
ble eflect upon the pupils in general, the means of individual 
education are to be found in the subsidiary arrangements of the 
school, and not in its general system. In regard to instruction, 
it aiTords a good example of that division of the system of mu- 
tual instruction which originated with Dr. Bell, whose precepts 
and practice, as contained in his Manual, are mainly followed. 
While the Scotch schools which I have described have obvi- 
ously borrowed something from each other in their arrange- 
ments, this institution is in a totally different sphere, both intel- 
lectual and religious. 

In the regulations, every case which has occurred, or whicli 
has been foreseen, of violation of discipline, or interference by 
parents, and the like, has been provided for by formal rules — a 
plan, the expediency of which I much doubt. The punishment of 
offences against morality may be provided for by general regula- 
tions, and cases of interference on the part of parents, by vesting 
discretionary power in some of the authorities of the institution. 
The regulations required by a contrary course, if read to the 
school, must suggest many offences otherwise not thought of. 
In the progress of the institution, the decisions of cases actually 
occurring will establish precedents which supply the place of a 
more formal code of rules. Power must be lodged somewhere, 
and by investing chosen agents with it, the trustees of an insti- 
tution may be almost certain that it will be exercised with 
knowledge, and the power of revision, on appeal, must of right 
be theirs. 

History, Buildings, ^-c. This institution was founded by 
voluntary subscription, in 1708, and assumed something of its 
present form in 1717. It is intended to give education and 
maintenance to destitute children, who have lost their parents, 
or whose parents have been reduced in life — these children to 
be taken from those " above the lowest class in society." 

It is managed by a board of trustees,* whose executive 
officer is the treasurer, who, though an honorary officer, is 

* Three of these gentlemen were formerly pupils in the institution. 
7 



50 ELEEMOSYiVARY INSTITUTIOKS. 

nevertheless expected to attend both to the out and in-door 
management. The head master is the chief within doors, 
and is assisted by a matron and female teachers for the 
girls, and by three assistant masters for the boys. A surgeon 
and physician* are the only other officers. The assistants 
take turns in superintending the boys when not in school, 
and seeing that they go through the routine of the day. All 
attend in the refectory for the preservation of order, and to as- 
certain that the wants of each pupil are duly supplied. They 
also, in turn, attend the boys in their walks, and sleep in rooms 
adjoining to and having a view of the dormitories. 

All the boys' classes are united for instruction in one long 
room, the whole being under the charge of the head master 
and senior assistant, and each class being taught by its assist- 
ant master, or by the pupils appointed to act as teachers. 
Frequently the hearing of lessons is delegated to these pupil- 
teachers, the master having previously prepared the class by 
explanations intended to remove difficulties from the way of 
private study. At other times, the master hears the lesson him- 
self, or is present when the pupil-teacher hears it, or goes over 
the ground with the class, after the teacher has done his part. 
A class is sometimes divided, the master taking one part and 
intrusting the other to the pupil-teacher, and then changing the 
divisions. As the higher classes have respectively seventy, 
ninety, and forty members, it would be impossible for the mas- 
ter, alone, to instruct to any advantage. The youngest class, 
on the contrary, is quite small, and always in the hands of a 
junior master. Although the system of mutual instruction, 
which was first applied by Doctor Bell is, in general, followed, 
it is, as may be inferred from the details above presented, in a 
modified form, with a considerable share of the personal atten- 
tion of the masters in teaching. 

The place of a pupil in the class depends upon the answers 
which he gives in the recitations, and upon his conduct, a fixed 

* On an average, in this institution, tlicre arc four sick per week, in the whole 
number of two hundred and fifty boys and one hundred girls, and one dies in the 
course of three years, 



LIVERPOOL BLUE-COAT SCHOOL. 51 

system of rules being adopted in regard to every circumstance 
which can cause a change of place during a lesson. In the 
lower class, the places are registered every day, and the ave- 
rage at the end of the quarter gives the standing. There is a 
general new classification of the school every quarter, and those 
who are fit for a higher class are then promoted. When, how- 
ever, a pupil is remarkably superior to the rest of his class, he is 
promoted without waiting for this term. The system of emula- 
tion thus adopted, is supposed to excite considerable diligence. 
It appeared to me to do so really on the part of a very few near 
the head of the class, who had the competition for honours be- 
fore them ; but below the middle it did not produce any effect 
until towards the lower end, where its results were evidently bad. 
I found all the intelligent persons connected with this institu- 
tion so thoroughly convinced of the efficacy of the monitorial 
system, that I paused in drawing conclusions in regard to it 
until I had compared this school with others upon the same or 
a similar system; it is, however, one of the best examples which 
I saw of the Bell or Madras system, or, rather, of a modified 
form of it. The gentlemen above referred to are convinced 
that the pupil-teachers are not only competent to give instruc- 
tion, but that they frequently communicate it in a more intelli- 
gible form than teachers who are further removed by age and 
knowledge from the boys ; that the emulation among the pupil- 
teachers of different classes induces their pupils to exert them- 
selves more than if under the charge of the master, and that 
the pupil-teachers are sufficiently exact and impartial in admin- 
istering the rules of discipline and instruction. I state these 
opinions broadly, not wishing to conceal that the views of 
others, who have experience in the matter, are adverse to my 
own. I observed as closely as my opportunities would permit, 
here and elsewhere, and came to the conclusion that, in com- 
municating knowledge not merely mechanical, the pupil-teach- 
ers are generally at fault, that they fail to keep up the attention 
of the pupils, and to preserve order among them, except in pre- 
sence of the master, and that they do not always deal impar- 
tially in administering the rules. It is true, that if a class 



52 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

of ninety is to be confided to one master, monitors may be 
usefully employed to prepare the pupils for him. A similar 
plan is pursued at the best school on the Bell system which I 
have seen, the Madras College at St. Andrew's, Scotland. 
Further than this, I do not believe that monitors can be use- 
fully employed, and where the means of procuring a sufficient 
number of good teachers is not wanting, I would not at all 
recommend the use of the monitorial system in imparting in- 
struction. 

The branches taught in this Blue-coat School are in accord- 
ance with the destination of the boys in after life. They con- 
sist of spelling, reading, writing, mental and written arithmetic, 
English grammar, geography, the history of England, elements 
of astronomy, the catechism and rehgious doctrines of the 
Church of England, and the singing of church music. A few 
pupils receive instruction in geometry and music, and those who 
show a disposition to become teachers have the means of addi- 
tional study and of preparation, by being apprenticed as mas- 
ters in the school. The opportunity of drawing from engrav- 
ings is also furnished. 

Much time is devoted to the mechanical branches of general 
instruction, such as writing, making printed letters, and drawing 
maps, &c. More than nine hours per week are given up by 
the eldest class to such objects, besides those devoted to print- 
ing in the evening. The pupils are so fully imbued with the 
desire to succeed in these pursuits, that as an expedient to in- 
duce a preparation of the reading lessons, those only who have 
read well are allowed to attend the writing exercises. 

It has been found advisable to vary the subjects of their read- 
ing lessons very considerably. Formerly the Bible was the 
only book used for reading, and beside that the associations 
with it as a text-book appeared not to be favourable to reli- 
gious impressions, the pupils became so used to its phraseology 
as not to be able to read understandingly other works, although 
they could read this with tolerable fluency.* 

* This fact comes from a source above all suspicion. 



LIVERPOOL BLUE-COAT SCHOOL. 53 

TJie very useful exercise in the Madras system, in which the 
pupils question each other, is well carried out in this school; 
every boy thus must ask as well as answer questions. It, how- 
ever, offers considerable practical difficulty. Some hold back 
from diffidence, others from fear of showing ignorance by their 
questions, and others are incompetent to it from ignorance of 
the subjects. 

Moral and Religious Instruction. One of the things which 
struck me most on my first visit to this school, was the exten- 
sive acquaintance with doctrinal religion which the boys of the 
eldest class manifested. My surprise was removed, however, 
on learning the method by which this result was obtained, and 
which consisted in devoting the morning hours of winter, and 
at other seasons when the weather did not invite to a walk, be- 
tween rising and breakfast, to learning commentaries on the 
doctrines of the Church of England, commencing in the fourth 
class with the Catechism of the Church of England,* the col- 
lects, prayers, &c.; continuing in the third class with the 
explanation of the catechism ; in the second, with commit- 
ting to memory the chief doctrines of the church; in the first, 
with committing the references by which the doctrines are 
supported. I felt bound to examine faithfully the question 
whether this was a mere intellectual effort, or whether the 
Christian truths thus inculcated made an impression upon the 
hearts of these children; and I regret to state that I was forced 
to the conclusion that, in the greater number of cases, the 
heart was little affected by what the tongue repeated, and the 
intellect assented to, and this conclusion was in accordance 
with the result of my inquiries. It is true that the seed thus 
planted may lie hid to germinate in after life, and this, no doubt, 
sometimes occurs; but, as a general rule, the measure is found 
to be unproductive, as far as its immediate effects have been 
observed. 



* There is no qualification as to the religious sect to wliich the parent or 
pupil belongs, in regard to admission; but he is required to conform, when 
admitted, to tlie forms of tlie Churcli of England. 



54 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTION'S. 

The religious services in this school, on Sunday afternoon, 
are very remarkable for their order and decorum. The pupils 
are marched into the room, and receive from the leaders of 
their divisions their books as they file off to their places. The 
prayers are prepared for the school, and are read by one of 
the pupils, appointed as a mark of approbation. The singing, 
which is respectable, is accompanied by an organ played by 
one of the teachers. The psalms and hymns are given out 
also by one of the boys. A monitor puts part of a class 
through the catechism. The services are thus from beginning 
to end carried on by the pupils, with the exception of the assist- 
ance in music by the master. The treasurer, and frequently 
others of the trustees, attend these services, and the parents or 
friends of the pupils are admitted on presenting a ticket from 
the treasurer. 

The rewards for good conduct are, the approbation of the 
teachers, permission to read the books in the school library, of 
which there is a very judicious selection, offices of trust in the 
school, and recommendations to situations after leaving the 
institution. In i-egard to the use of the library, which I found 
a very strong incentive in this school, I would offer a remark. 
When a judicious selection of childrens' books has been made, 
and it is found that there is no desire to read them, the 
instruction is radically defective. Few children care to read 
what they do not understand, and, if taught merely mechani- 
cally, the books selected for their use will be unintelligible, and 
hence uninteresting to them. The amount of use, therefore, of 
the lending library, is a test of the thoroughness of the instruc- 
tion, and of its being of the explanatory sort. There may, of 
course, be exceptions to this rule, arising from the over-employ- 
ment of children at other work, by which they are prevented 
from using the books, and from other causes ; but I speak now 
of the general rule, which I found most fully proved by nume- 
rous observations. 

There are vacations of two weeks at mid-summer, and of a 
week at Christmas. 

No punishment other than the position in the class is applied 



LIVERPOOL BLUE-COAT SCHOOL. 55 

for not being on a par in recitation with others. For a some- 
M'hat serious offence, a boy is " put into Coventry," and his 
classmates, when seeing this badge of punishment, are not 
allowed to speak to him.* Corporal punishment is used, but 
the rod is not habitually in sight as a motive to exertion. 
Immorality is punished by flogging, and, if not amended, by 
expulsion. 

Physical Education. There are no regular gymnastic exer- 
cises or amusements, but all the pupils are taken frequently to 
walk for exercise, and, during the course of the morning school, 
which lasts from nine to twelve, each class has, separately, a 
few minutes of recreation, being marched into the court-yard, 
under the charge of the monitors. The play-ground is not 
very large, and is paved with round stones, and there is a 
covered way on one side for wet weather, an indispensable ap- 
pendage to such an establishment: under this each boy has a 
box in which he may keep his ball and other play-things. The 
menial duties of the house, and some of them in rotation, are 
performed by the pupils; they serve the table, wait upon it, 
clean their shoes and clothes, make their beds, &c., and are 
nearly independent of the use of servants: in my opinion, an 
admirable regulation. One of the boys even acts as por- 
ter, which, as it is a responsible and profitable situation, is 
made a reward for character, and is attended with certain 
perquisites, matters of custom in those countries, but incon- 
sistent with the ideas entertained in ours. 

The allowance of clothes, linen, &c., is the same as in the 
Scottish institutions. Three shoemakers are constantly em- 
ployed in making and mending shoes for the pupils. The girls 
knit the boys' stockings, and make up their linen, and the mend- 
ing of clothes, &c., is done by persons residing in the house. 

The diet is very plain, but wholesome.f The entire cost of 
the food for each child is about forty cents per week, or less 

* The use of any badge or mark of this sort is liable to the same objection as 
all other public punishments, upon which I have already remarked. 

t The cooking operations, commonly performed by boiling, are all done by 
steam. 



56 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

than six cents a day. A table of diet is subjoined in the Ap- 
pendix. Tlie supper, consisting of cheese and bread, is distri- 
buted in the refectory, and taken to the school-room to be 
eaten, the water being previously drunk at the table ; a custom 
which produces several inconveniences. 

The arrangements for washing are by no means convenient, 
the boys using the wash-room for this purpose morning and 
evening, and the hydrant in the yard after dinner and supper. 
They occupy two dormitories, overlooked by windows from 
the tutor's rooms. The bedsteads are of wrought iron, the mat- 
tresses of straw. Two boys occupy the same bed, a plan upon 
which I have already commented. 

The pupils sometimes march to and from the refectory to 
the sound of music, and a very tolerable band of fifers has been 
formed from among the boys. 

HENSHAW'S HOSPITAL, OR OLDHAM BLUE-COAT SCHOOL. 

As this institution is modelled upon that of Liverpool,* of 
which I have spoken somewhat in detail, I shall offer merely 
a few remarks upon certain topics connected with it, which 
seem to me of interest. The foundation results from the will of 
Mr. Thomas Henshaw,f a hatter, of Oldham, a manufacturing 
town near Manchester, who left, in 1810, the sum of two hun- 
dred thousand dollars to endow a "Blue-coat School" This 
endowment now amounts to nearly four hundred thousand 
dollars, and the school has a revenue of near eleven thousand 
five hundred dollars, for its support. By the will of the 
founder, no part of this money was to go to erect a building for 
his school, and if the town of Oldham did not raise the funds 
for that purpose, Manchester was to have the option to do so. 

The sum required for the building was, however, nearly all 
raised in the town of Oldham, and much of it among the work- 
men of the different manufactories, who clubbed together when 



* The head master was brought up at that sehool. 

+ This same charitable individual has also left a fund for the education of tlic 
blind. 



HENSHAW'jJ HOSPITAL. 57 

their separate donations did not seem of sufficient amount to be 
presented singly. The building, in the Elizabethan Gothic 
style, is now the pride of the citizens of Oldham, who have 
erected it. 

The interior arrangements, of which I have procured the 
plans, are of unequal merit. Those connected with the diet, 
clothing, and cleanliness, are good.* The attempt to heat the 
house by the circulation of hot water has not proved successful. 
The school-room is covered with an arch, and the reverbera- 
tion has been so annoying as to render it necessary to hang it 
with cloth. This is done in the compartments of the Gothic 
vaults, two pieces of cloth being stretched across at right angles 
to the axis of the arch, and others intersecting each other, so 
as to form a St. Andrew's cross: the appearance is not bad, 
and the remedy is effectual. 

This institution was opened in 1834, when fifty boys were ad- 
mitted between the ages of nine and ten. There are now (1836) 
two hundred boys, and the funds will probably support more than 
this number. The difficulties of organization were very great, 
owing to the late age of the pupils, and especially to the number 
introduced at the opening of the school. Nearly the whole time 
of the head master has been, heretofore, so occupied in arranging 
the details of maintenance and discipline, that he has been able to 
give but little attention to the instruction, which, though the insti- 
tution had been in operation upwards of two years when I visited 
it, was by no means in the condition which he desired. These 
difficulties must have been much lessened by the fact, that the 
model of the Blue-coat School of Liverpool was followed as 
closely as possible in all the arrangements; that the master 
was educated there, and had to apply his knowledge under 
very similar circumstances. Notwithstanding this, the task has 
been very great, and the lesson it teaches ought not to be 
lost upon us. It was one of the examples which induced me to 
express myself strongly in regard to this point, when describing 
the organization of John Watson's Hospital; the tenor of the 

* All those connected with the kitchen and laundry arc very good, such as 
«tcaming-kettles, washing-machine, drying-closcts, mangle, &c. 
8 



58 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

results being the same in these two cases. It is so difficult to 
unmake, that a preparatory system for the trial of a plan, by 
which the development may be gradual, and mistakes avoided 
at the final organization, must be very desirable. The wish to 
begin an institution on a scale commensurate with its future 
entire organization, is a natural one, but it should yield to the 
lessons of experience, which have every where shown that a 
small beginning is preferable. It is easy to train a few pupils, 
and those who follow are influenced by their example. In a 
novel undertaking, the teacher, tliough of well tried skill 
in a diflerent school, requires also training in this. Finally, the 
regulations which work well elsewhere, may require modifica- 
tions which experience only can point out. If legislation and 
counter legislation would be avoided, the rules should be tried 
upon a scale which permits close observation of their results. 
The application of laws deduced from practice elsewhere, under 
new circumstances, can only be guided by theory, and should 
be considered as theoretical, and, therefore, the laws themselves 
cautiously introduced. 

LONDON ORPHAN ASYLUM AT CLAPTON. 

The Orphan Asylum at Clapton, near London, presents a set 
of rules so admirably arranged for the application of an inge- 
nious system of rewards and punishments, that it deserves a 
detailed examination, which I must, however, preface by a few 
remarks on the general arrangements of the institution. 

This Orphan Asylum is supported by voluntary contributions, 
and hence derives an income of about forty thousand dol- 
lars, upon which are maintained and educated between three 
and four hundred children.* The immediate control of the 
institution is vested in a board of managers, elected at the gene- 
ral annual meeting of the contributors. From this board is 
chosen a visiting or house-committee of twelve, who meet 
every week at the asylum. They superintend the education 

* Actually three hundred and forty-six in 183G, of whom about two liundred 
were boys. The cost of each pupil for tlic year, including liis maintenance and 
education, was nearly one hundred and seven dollars. 



LONDON ORPHAN ASYLUM AT CLAPTON. 59 

and household aflairs, examine the bills, &e. The charge of 
such matters as belong to the female department, it does not 
form part of my purpose to notice. There are two secretaries, 
a treasurer, who is a salaried officer, and a collector. The 
building erected for this institution, the plans of which are submit- 
ted with this Report, is highly convenient and quite ornamental. 
It consists of two wings and a retired centre, and the interior 
arrangements are particularly good. The whole building is 
supplied with water by a steam-engine in the cellar, and which 
is used, also, for some of the laundry work. The kitchen and 
laundry arrangements are, in general, similar to those at Old- 
ham, with the advantage of the use of the steam-engine. 

To be admitted to this Orphan Asylum a child must be father- 
less, and between the ages of seven and eleven. The applica- 
tion for admission must be signed by a subscriber, and accom- 
panied by certificates of birth, &c., and by a certified statement 
of claims to admission. The child must be sound in body and 
mind; and, if any imposition is discovered in regard to any of 
the statements upon which it was admitted, is required to be 
withdrawn. Two respectable housekeepers must become secu- 
rities that the child will be withdrawn, at any time, on the re- 
quisition of the board of managers. 

Children who have been in the workhouse are not taken, ex- 
cept under very peculiar circumstances. On the payment of 
one hundred guineas into the funds, the board may receive, if 
they see fit, a child not belonging to the class for which the 
establishment is particularly designed. The regular admissions 
are decided by ballot, a printed form containing the names of 
the children, their claims, and other particulars, and a conve- 
nient mode of voting, being furnished to the stockholders, on 
application to the secretary. 

All the pupils leave the school when between thirteen and four- 
teen years of age; and, in case of satisfactory deportment, the 
board of managers very generally procure situations for them, 
with the consent of their friends, though they do not enter into 
any obligation to do so. They give, at leaving, a certificate of 
conduct, and, on examination, one of proficiency, and the child 



60 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

is furnished with a suit of clothes, and other articles of wearing 
apparel, a Bible and prayer book, and printed advice on his con- 
duct; receives a charge from one of the members of the board, 
and, in addition, may have presented to him the sum of fifty 
dollars. To keep up the connexion of the pupils with the insti- 
tution, an annual meeting is held, for attendance at which each 
one receives an honorarium, increasing in amount with the time 
elapsed since he left the school. From these sums contributions 
to the asylum are frequently made, for special objects, by the 
former pupils thus assembled. 

The boys are not allowed to visit their friends, except in case 
of the illness of the latter. They may receive visits between 
two and half past four, P. M., on Wednesdays, and their 
friends who wish to pay such visits must apply at the secreta- 
ry's office for a ticket, which is given, in general, but once a 
quarter. The house is opened to strangers on Monday, be- 
tween eleven, A. M., and five, P. M., on presenting a ticket 
from a manager. 

The officers for education and police are, a master and 
chaplain, the offices being, at the present time, united in the 
same person;* assistant masters, a matron, and a mistress for the 
girls. Besides the house-servants, who are females, there is a 
gardener, who acts as porter. 

The master is principal of the establishment, of which he has 
the entire superintendence, under the house-committee. He 
gives all the religious instruction, and also teaches, in part, the 
higher classes in other subjects. He is responsible for the due 
execution of the plans matured by the board. The assistants 
are directly under his control, and he has a vote on their appoint- 
ment, to enable him to exercise which with due care, they are 
not permanently attached until after a three months' probation. 
He reports monthly on the state of the school. 

The matron is a housekeeper to both departments, hires the 
servants deemed necessary by the committee, superintends the 
whole domestic economy, receives the stores, and is responsible 

* The Rev. Mr, Heath. 



LONDON ORPHAN ASYLUM AT CLAPTON. 61 

for them. A table is spread in her room, at dinner and supper, 
for the mistress of the girls' department and the assistants. 
She is the keeper of all the keys, when not required by the 
masters. 

The assistants not only give instruction, but attend the boys 
at rising and washing in the morning, at prayers, meals, recrea- 
tion, washing in the evening, and going to bed, performing these 
duties in rotation. There is, notwithstanding, no appearance 
of that family feeling which might be expected to grow out of 
such an intercourse; probably from the tendency of the regu- 
lations presently to be detailed to introduce different feelings. 
The order of the day in the institution is as follows: The pu- 
pils rise at six in summer, and seven in winter. Bedside 
prayers, washing, muster and inspection, occupy until seven in 
summer, (eight in winter.) At seven there is school, in sum- 
mer. At eight, breakfast. Play until nine. At nine, public 
prayers. From twenty minutes past nine to half past twelve, 
school. At one, dinner, and play until two. At two, school 
until half past four. Prayers and play until half past six. 
Supper and play until half past seven. Muster, washing, bed- 
side prayers, and retiring at eight. In summer they may be kept 
up until half past eight. They have thus, during one part of the 
year, six hours and a-half of school daily, and about four hours 
of play. There are a few regular holidays in the year, and 
July and August may be vacations for a part of the masters. 
There are two excursions annually, made under the charge 
of some of the trustees or masters, by those boys who have 
merited indulgences. 

The subjects of instruction are those belonging to what is 
understood by a plain English education, entirely adapted to 
the age at which the boys must leave the school, and the sys- 
tem of teaching is a modified form of Dr. Bell's method. 

The diet is plain and wholesome. An abstract of the diet- 
tables of this and other institutions will be found in the Appendix, 
No. VII. The clothing is good in quality, and sufficient in quan- 
tity, and is admirably preserved under the charge of the excellent 
matron of the establishment. Rooms are appropriated for the 



t)2 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

clothes in use, and they are served out by the boys who have 
charge of divisions. The cleanliness is superintended by a 
nurse, who is under the charge of the matron. The conti- 
nuance of female superintendence over the elder boys seems to 
me objectionable. 

Besides the ordinary sports of youth, which an ample play- 
ground attached to the buildings admits, the pupils have a spe- 
cies of gymnastic exercise, from half an hour to an hour daily, 
out of doors when the weather permits, and in doors at other 
times. The in-door exercises are calculated to give moderate 
play to the different parts of the body, and in this respect are 
better adapted than more violent ones, to the true purpose of 
gymnastics for ordinary life. For youth, I much prefer an ex- 
tension of their ordinary sports, when out-door exercise is possi- 
ble, especially if regulated according to principle, to the violent 
exercises which are commonly adopted in the systems of gym- 
nastics. I am satisfied that a skilful physician would, by 
observation, produce something much more adapted to the in- 
clinations of our boys, than the very artificial system of gym- 
nastic exercises ; which has, I believe, never permanently suc- 
ceeded in any institution either in this country or in England. 

This account is sufficient to give a general idea of the insti- 
tution, and I now proceed to a description of its peculiar plan 
of education, before alluded to, in reference to rewards and 
punishments. 

There are two tables of rewards, the one for petty, the other 
for great merits. These classes of merits are compensated, the 
first by rewards in money according to a system, and in a 
school currency, the second by gifts made at the public exami- 
nation. Among great merits are considered all cases of vo- 
luntary, patient, and persevering labour by a child, whether in 
the business of the school, or in occupation of his own selection. 
Corresponding to these are two tables of punishments, for petty 
and great offences, which are visited, the first by fines, and the 
second by flogging or solitary confinement. 

The ordinary rewards are bestowed, and fines levied in a 
school currency of tokens, bearing the designation of one, ten, 



LONDON ORPHAN ASYLUM AT CLAPTON. 63 

and twenty mark pieces respectively, and of which ten marks 
are reckoned at the value of a penny sterling, (two cents.) An 
account of the issues and receipts of them is kept to prevent 
barter, and as an index of the general conduct of the school. 
All cases of exemplary punishment are entered into the master's 
book. When any pupil has obtained a certain number of marks, 
he is entitled to present himself before the house-committee, at 
a monthly meeting, to receive their value in money. As means 
of using this money are provided — first, a library, to which those 
w^ho subscribe a penny a month have access, a right to recom- 
mend a book for purchase to the master and secretaries of the 
institution, and a voice in the choice of a boy as treasurer and 
librarian. The school currency is not received in payment of 
this subscription. Second, a small shop kept by one of the boys, 
selected by his fellows for that purpose, at which are sold, at 
prime cost, articles of stationary, books, useful toys, and mate- 
rials for drawing and mechanical pursuits. Third, a shop kept 
by the wife of the porter, where fruit, cakes, &c., are sold. 

Those children, on the contrary, who are fined beyond the 
marks which they have received as rewards, are considered as 
defaulters, and must by extra work recover their solvency. 
While defaulters, they can neither hold office among their fel- 
lows nor vote for officers. 

The boys who have been one entire school year without in- 
solvency, or suflering any of the higher punishments, are con- 
sidered as "free boys;" they alone are eligible to trusts, and 
may be candidates for honorary medals. They are, further, en- 
titled to make two excursions a year, with one of the house- 
committee or one of their teachers. If a boy have lost his 
" freedom," he may regain it by six months of solvency and ex- 
emption from high punishment. 

Those who for a year have been remarkable for diligence 
and good conduct, receive a "student's medal," and those who 
have held important offices, and discharged their duty to the 
satisfaction of the masters, receive a high honorary medal, 
which they wear, unless degraded. 

The whole school is classified in the order of conduct each 



64 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

month, and the list presented to the house-committee. This list 
is suspended in the school-room, two days before its presenta- 
tion, that any boy may have an opportunity to appeal to the 
master, if he thinks himself improperly rated. For their govern- 
ment, when not in school, the boys elect half yearly a prefect 
and sub-prefects. These latter have charge each of nine boys, 
whom they select in turn, forming thus a squad of ten, or decad. 
The master has in this, as in all other cases of selection of offi- 
cers, a veto upon the choice made by the pupils. These and other 
otBcers of the school are rewarded for the })eribrmance of their 
duties, and punished for non-performance, the fines for neglect 
and rewards for the discharge of duty being in proportion to 
the importance of their office. A part of the morning of every 
Saturday is devoted to the making up of accounts, reports, and 
similar matters. 

No pupil is allowed to leave the estabhshment without an ex- 
amination by the house-committee into his conduct and progress, 
which, if satisfactory, entitles him to a certificate. A month 
before leaving the school, the claims of a pupil to have hisjiame 
inscribed on the "table of honour," are decided by his fellows, 
who may petition the master on the subject; and if he counter- 
sign their petition, it is presented to the house-committee. The 
annual meeting of the children, both in and out of the house, 
has been already alluded to. 

Many of these rules may appear trivial to some persons who 
are in the habit of treating as " boys' play" the occupations of 
children, but to those who see future citizens in their pupils, I 
am sure the details will not appear irrelevant. It should never 
be forgotten, that the basis of our institution is an elementary 
school, and that if this basis is unsound, we shall in vain work at 
the College, which is its superstructure; we shall in vain try to 
produce good citizens, intelligent tradesmen, mechanics, teach- 
ers, engineers, navigators, merchants, or scholars, unless we 
have rightly trained the children, who by a wise provision in 
the Will of our founder, are to be early placed under the pro- 
tection of his institution. 

Of those who view the matter seriously, many object to the 



LONDOi\ BLUE-COAT SCHOOL. 65 

introduction of pecuniary rewards at all in a school I tried, as 
far as my opportunities would permit, and with the advantage 
of a free communication with the amiable master, with his 
first assistant, and others, to ascertain whether any permanent 
bad effects had shown themselves, but I could not learn that 
such had been the case, or that these boys appeared more sor- 
did or avaricious than children generally. In regard to the 
general effect of the regulations it is certainly good, for the 
boys are cheerful and healthy, gay and well disposed in the 
play-ground, with great docility and a reasonable degree of 
quickness in the class-room. Of course much of this depends 
upon the judicious manner in which the rules are executed, 
but if they were radically defective, the results must have in- 
dicated the fact. I believe that the system of family discipline, 
duly carried out, would produce even better results, but such a 
plan is incompatible with a limited expenditure, from the num- 
ber and character of the agents which it requires. Upon this 
point, however, I have elsewhere already insisted, and if a 
comparison is to be drawn between the sj'stem pursued at 
Liverpool and the one just described, I should give this the 
preference. 

CHRIST'S HOSPITAL, OR BLUE-COAT SCHOOL, LONDON. 

This is the oldest and most wealthy of all the institutions in 
Great Britain having a similar object, and it is the one which 
gives the most distinguished of its scholars, after leaving its 
walls, the best opportunities of rising to the stations which their 
talents warrant. We have seen that a few of the Heriot's boys 
were sent to the university, but, in Christ's Hospital there is a 
systematic selection of a number of pupils for the English uni- 
versities, where success is sure to lay the foundation of future 
prosperity. Though this school is not characterized by the 
practical turn which must distinguish the Girard College, yet, 
from the age to which a part of its pupils are retained, and the 
degree to which its studies are carried, it will afford instructive 
matter of examination. The great scale of the institution, so 
much beyond any other in Great Britain, and, indeed, in the 
9 



66 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

world, rendered my visits to it very interesting, and the ac- 
quaintance formed with its intelligent masters and officers,* 
was a source of great personal gratification. 

History and Building. Christ's Hospital was founded in 
1552, by King Edward the Sixth, and was opened in the old 
monastery of Greyfriars, which had been given by Henry the 
Eighth to the City of London, for the use of the poor. It 
seems that from near the period of its foundation one object of 
the institution was its use as a classical or grammar school, 
though to what extent it served this purpose does not clearly 
appear. In 1577 the Writing School, so called, was formed to 
supply great defects in the English education of the pupils, and 
in 1673 the Mathematical School was established by Charles the 
Second, for the education of officers for the naval and mer- 
chant services, by special instruction in mathematics, naviga- 
tion, and the kindred branches. In 1076 originated the Pre- 
paratoj-y Establishment for young children now at Hertford ; and 
thus were completed, within about a century from the founda- 
tion of the school, the four establishments of which it may be 
considered as at present composed. The number of governors 
of Christ's Hospital now amounts to four hundred and twenty, 
including, as ex-officio members, the lord mayor, aldermen, and 
council of the city of London. Of these governors a standing 
committee of forty has the general charge of the affairs, 
being responsible to the general board, which meets six times 
yearly.f 

The capital is invested chiefly in landed or funded property, 
the latter being the most productive. The income for the year 
1830, deducting moneys paid for stocks and passed to the build- 
ing fund, amounted to the enormous sum of three hundred and 
thirty three thousand dollars, by no means all of which, how- 
ever, was absorbed by the current expenses, and these are so 

* I was indebted to William Vaughan, Esq., of London, for an introduction to 
this institution, which opened every avenue to information in respect to it. 

t In 1832 there were in the Hospital at London and the Preparatory Estab- 
lishment at Hertford, thirteen hundred and thirty -seven children; in 1833, tliir- 
teen hundred and thirty-fivc. 



LOJVDOIV BLUE-COAT SCHOOL. 67 

various in kind, tiiat they cannot all properly be charged 
against the education and maintenance of the pupils. There 
are between thirteen and fourteen hundred children on the 
charity, the average maintenance of each of whom costs a little 
over one hundred and ten dollars, and including all expenses 
except the management of estates, &c., about one hundred and 
ninety dollars. The buildings of the institution at London have, 
in later years, undergone thorough repairs ; new ones, in a 
Gothic style, resembling the older ones, have been erected, 
and the assemblage is now one of the most imposing to be 
found connected with any similar establishment in the world. 
They are still constantly undergoing alterations upon a regular 
plan, and thus a steady improvement in this respect is secured. 
The large dining-hall, with the offices below, the writing-school, 
and the mathematical school, are beautiful specimens of archi- 
tecture, and admirably suited to their uses. The cloisters, 
which form the sides of a part of the building, and which 
connect others, are excellent places of play for wet weather. 
The kitchen, large lavatory,* and other offices deserve exami- 
nation. 

General Government. The chief executive officer is the trea- 
surer,! who not only manages the estates, but has the control 
of the institution, and is, in fact, its presiding officer. He is a 
member of the board of governors, is chairman of all commit- 
tees, and when the committee of forty are not in session, has 
discretionary power of action. He is allowed a deputy, called 
a receiver, and a clerk. 

The standing committee of forty regulate all contracts, and 
the bills on articles thus purchased are paid by the treasurer or 
receiver. Other bills require the signature of three of a com- 
mittee of auditors consisting of twelve members, of whom six 
are from the larger committee, and six from the general board. 

* All these parts of this, and the Orphan Asylum at Clapton, were carefully 
visited in my company by our architect, T. U. Walter, Esq., which renders 
further details from me unnecessary. 

t Now J. H. Pigeon, Esq., who gave me every facility for visiting the insti- 
tution. 



68 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

The officers render accounts once a month to the committee 
of forty, and the cash book is submitted to their examination. 
The salaries, including those of the masters, steward, beadles, 
&c., are paid quarterly, at the counting-house within the 
Hospital enclosure, by the treasurer. The house-servants 
(females,) are paid by the matron. The out-door servants 
and labourers, by the receiver, monthly. The steward re- 
ceives monthly £100 in advance for petty expenses, for which 
he accounts. To transact the business of the counting-house, 
the following officers are required: — 1st. A chief clerk, who 
conducts all correspondence, attends meetings of committees 
and of the board, (called courts,) &c. 2d. A receiver, who is 
the treasurer's deputy, and assists the clerk as secretary at the 
meetings of committees. 3d. A wardrobe-keeper and chief as- 
sistant clerk, who, under contracts made by the committee, in- 
spects, receives, and delivers all apparel, and assists in the 
counting-house. 4th. Two other assistant clerks, who are se- 
lected from among the pupils of the school. 5th. Two mes- 
sengers. All articles required for the establishment, except 
provisions, are received at this counting-house, and drawn out 
on orders from those who superintend their use. 

Besides the officers connected with the estates, are a solicitor, 
and a surveyor, who is also the architect, and who has his office 
within the buildings. All the officers hold their appointments 
at the will of the governors, and the treasurer has the power of 
suspending any one of them, reporting the case to the com- 
mittee. 

Besides the servants already mentioned, are a porter for the 
front gate, a gate-keeper for the private entrance, who also at- 
tends to the lamps in the courts, two watchmen, a cook, who 
is required to keep two servants to assist her, labourers to light 
fires, bring water, *fec. The porter is expected to attend to 
the fire-engine and plugs, and to be responsible for their good 
order. To be sure that the watchmen are on the alert at every 
hour of the night, the following ingenious plan is adopted. A 
dial-plate moved by a clock, presents a number of holes corres- 
ponding to the hours, each of which passes in turn before an 



LONDON BLUE-COAT SCHOOL. 69 

opening in the clock-case ; a pin is required to be inserted into 
one of these holes, which can only be done at or near the pro- 
per time; and if omitted, the want of vigilance is detected. 

Admission, <^-c. The presentations of candidates for admission 
are made in the meetings of the governors, each member of the 
board having a right of nomination in turn. The cases are 
then discussed and voted upon. There is no precise limit set 
by law to the income of a parent which would exclude his 
child, but each case is separately considered.* There is also 
no qualification as to previous instruction. The age of admis- 
sion is between six and ten, the same fixed upon by Mr. Gi- 
rard for the admission of orphans into his college. There is no 
obligation on the governors either to bind out the children who 
are to enter their apprenticeship when they leave the institution, 
or to maintain them in any way; there are, however, various 
benefactions, which have been placed at the disposal of the 
board for such purpose by diflerent benevolent individuals. 
The boys of the mathematical school are appointed in the 
navy, or apprenticed in the merchant service, and the most dis- 
tinguished pupils of the grammar school have various scholar- 
ships open to them at the universities. 

Intellectual Education. Various changes have been made in 
the instruction at different times since the foundation of the 
institution, to bring it more nearly in unison with the general 
condition of education of the day. It is not necessary to detail 
these alterations, but merely to give some account of the pre- 
sent state of the schools.f The objects of the education here 
may be considered as threefold. First, to fit boys for trades or 
mercantile pursuits; these pupils leaving the institution at about 
fourteen years of age. Second, to fit boys for the naval or 
merchant service; these pupils having a special course in the 

* I was informed that an income of fifteen hundred dollars (i^SOO) per annum 
had been ruled to exclude from the school tlie child of a father possessing it, un- 
less he had a large family. 

+ At one period in the history of the school, the pupils studied but one branch 
at a time, and this depending upon their age ! showing the strange ideas of intel- 
lectual culture then prevailing. 



70 ELEEMOSYNAUY INSTITUTION'S. 

mathematical school, and leaving the institution at the age of 
sixteen. Third, to fit a chosen few for the universities; these 
devote themselves to classics, mainly complete their instruction 
in the upper grammar school, and leave the institution at about 
eighteen or nineteen. The preliminary school at Hertford is 
the nursery of the establishment, and from it, as vacancies oc- 
cur, the pupils are transferred to the London house. It is ex- 
pected that previous to this transfer, the boys have acquired 
some knowledge of English, of arithmetic, and of the rudiments 
of Latin. On arriving at the London school, they join one of 
two great divisions which are equal in standing, and one of 
■which attends the grammar school in the morning and the wri- 
ting school in the afternoon, the other alternating with the first, 
and the time of attendance being changed every alternate week. 
The grammar school is divided into two departments, called 
the upper and lower schools, each containing three classes, 
those of the lower school designated as the junior, middle, and 
upper classes, and of the upper school as great Erasmus, 
deputy Grecians, and Grecians. The head master* has the 
special charge of the upper school, giving instruction person- 
ally to its two higher classes, and superintends the lower school, 
which he examines every six months. All these classes alter- 
nate in their attendance at the grammar and writing schools, 
except the deputy Grecians and Grecians, who attend the ma- 
thematical school for three hours on two afternoons of the 
week. The lower school is directly under the charge of two 
masters, who use the same books and pursue the same general 
course, and who are in part assisted by monitors from the upper 
school. The instruction consists of spelling, English reading, 
grammar, geography, Latin and Greek rudiments, and an in- 
troduction to the church catechism. The classical lessons are 
Latin or Greek grammar, construing and parsing, and exer- 
cises. In the writing school these same boys are taught wri- 
ting, arithmetic, book-keeping, the drawing of invoices, and all 
matters intended to fit them specially for the counting-house, and 

* At present the Rev. Mr. Rice, to whose politeness I was mucli indebted. 



LONDON BLUE-COAT SCHOOL. 71 

writing from dictation is added to improve their orthography* 
There are two masters and two ushers for this school. 

Twenty of these boys may, also, attend a lesson in drawing 
once a week, but as the hour fixed for the purpose is at present 
during the time of "half holiday," but little use is made of the 
privilege. 

The pupils of the lower grammar school are carried thus as 
far as the Heriot's and George Watson's boys of Edinburgh, 
and the greater number of them have arrived at the age when 
they leave the institution to be apprenticed to trades and similar 
occupations. The courses of instruction here are more con- 
centrated, and in those just named of Edinburgh, include more 
useful branches. Both are liable to the objection that much 
time is spent upon matters which are not pursued far enough 
to secure the mental culture which would otherwise result 
from them, and yet which have no bearing upon the future 
occupations of the pupils. In reply to this objection, it may 
be said, that it is impossible to discriminate between boys 
at this early age, and to discern who have the aptitude for a 
thorough training by languages, or who will make the future 
Grecians of the school. That it is diliicult may be freely ad- 
mitted, but that it is impossible I do not believe. With the re- 
sources of an institution like Christ's Hospital, the number of 
teachers may be so far multiplied as to permit an accurate 
study and appreciation of the actual talents of a youth, and to 
watch the progress of their development; on the average, the 
appreciation would be just, and remedies for cases of error 
or of late development are easily provided. But, if we suppose 
the discrimination impossible, and that all must receive, up to 
thirteen or fourteen years of age, an education to prepare them 
for the business of life, in a lower occupation, or one introductory 
to higher studies — with which individual will the case be the 
harder? With him who, having received the lower kind of in- 
struction, has the talent to push himself into the higher studies, 
and who, besides, remains at the institution for several years 
for this purpose, or with him who is at once to enter an appren- 
ticeship to a trade without having acquired the necessary in- 



72 ELEEMOSYXARY INSTITUTIONS. 

formation introductory to his career? Obviously the latter indi- 
vidual vi^ill find his position the more difficult one. But v^'e are 
not left to such a comparison in this particular instance, for 
there are less than seventy cases in which the studies may be 
claimed to prepare for the pursuits of the youth, to more than 
three hundred of the opposite character. Where the numbers 
stand thus, I do not conceive that there should be any hesita- 
tion as to the course to be pursued. 

My first position, that it is practicable so to arrange an insti- 
tution that superior talent sha:ll receive full opportunities for its 
cultivation, witliout sacrificing inferior talent by inappropriate 
instruction, is fully borne out by the experience of some of the 
orphan schools of Germany and Holland, which I shall hereafter 
describe. My excuse for so often recurring to this subject, 
must be found in the fact, that this question must be decided for 
the Girard College by its Trustees, and I am, therefore, most 
anxious in regard to it. I return to the course of the descrip- 
tion of Christ's Hospital, thus interrupted, and resume the con- 
sideration of the arrangements of the grammar school, with 
the lower class of the upper school. 

The boys of the great Erasmus class are pushed forward in 
the classical studies, being those from among whom the deputy 
Grecians are selected. In Latin they read parts of Sallust, 
Ovid's Epistles, and Virgil, and in Greek of the Diatessaron and 
of Xenophon's Anabasis. During the last half year of the course, 
the pupils who have no expectation of promotion drop ofl^, and 
are apprenticed by their parents or friends to surgeons, solici- 
tors, &c. There are from twenty to thirty-five pupils usually 
in this class, and their average age is about fifteen years. 

The deputy Grecians are, during nearly half the time spent 
in the grammar school, under the charge of the head master, 
and study the following authors and books: — In Latin, Virgil's 
yEneid, Ovid's Epistles, Horace, selected orations of Cicero, 
Terence, Valpy's Exercises, Elegantia Lat., part second. Ken- 
rick's Abridgment of Zumpt's Latin Grammar, Edward's Latin 
Lyrics and Elegiacs, Latin and English versification. Portions 
of Horace and Ovid are learned by heart, and themes are writ- 



LONDON BLUE-COAT SCHOOL. 73 

ten. In Greek,. Scriptores Graeci, Homer, Demosthenes, Ed- 
wards' Abridgment of Matthice's Greek Grammar, Huntingford's 
Exercises. Portions of Homer are committed to memory. In 
Hebrew, the grammar. In English, Butler's Geography, Histo- 
rical Catechism, English Poetry. An English theme, and prac- 
tice in versification, alternate with the corresponding exercises 
in Latin. There are ordinarily from eighteen to twenty in this 
class, some of whom are promoted to the next higher, and others 
are withdrawn by their friends to begin the study of a profes- 
sion, or, having completed their preparatory studies by the same 
assistance, enter the universities by successful competition for 
some open scholarship, or at the expense of their friends. 

The Grecians pursue the studies necessary for admission to 
the universities, and as one of the scholarships belonging to the 
hospital, or to which the Christ's Hospital boys have the prefe- 
rence, at either university, becomes vacant, the eldest member 
of the class is promoted, his place being filled from the most 
promising of the deputy Grecians. Two vacancies at Cambridge 
every year, and one at Oxford every fourth year, are thus sup- 
plied. There are usually seven or eight members in the class 
of Grecians, which, by the arrangements just stated, must con- 
tain pupils in various states of progress, and usually of different 
ages, some of them having reached eighteen and even twenty 
years of age. The class is principally under the immediate 
charge of the head master, and their course of classical studies 
is very extensive. As already stated, they receive instruction in 
mathematics for three hours, on two afternoons of every week. 
Their studies in the grammar school are, in Latin, Livy, Horace, 
and Juvenal, alternately, Cicero, Tusc. Disput., and de Nat. Deo- 
rum, Pitman's Excerp. ex Var. Rom. Poet., Kenrick's Exercises 
on Zumpt's Latin Grammar, Edward's Exercises on Latin 
Lyrics, and translations into Latin Elegiacs and Lyrics, frequent 
exercise in Latin and English versification and declamation, 
learning by heart portions of Horace, Juvenal, and Virgil's Geor- 
gics. In Greek, Dalzel's Analecta Majora, vols. 1 and 2, Hero- 
dotus, Thucydides, Barker's Selected Orations of Demosthenes, 
Homer's Iliad, Aristophanes, Kenrick's Greek Exercises, part se- 
10 



74 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTION'S. 

cond, Buttmann's Grammar, Greek prosody and versification, 
Beatson's Exercises in Greek Iambics, the translation of Greek 
into Latin and vice versa, the Greek Testament. In Hebrew, 
the grammar and part of the Psalter. 

The sons of officers of the navy, and others who have been 
elected to the foundation, are placed in the mathematical school 
after they have attained the necessary knowledge of English 
and arithmetic, and have been until about fifteen years of age 
in the grammar and writing schools. Here the studies are en- 
tirely mathematical, embracing such applications as are essen- 
tial to navigation. Formerly, instruments were in possession of 
the institution for exercise in practical astronomy, and even an 
observatory was attached to the buildings; but I believe nothing 
of this kind now exists. These boys attend a drawing master 
two afternoons in the week, and their places are occupied by 
the Grecians and deputy Grecians. 

Twice a year the difierent scholastic departments are ex- 
amined, viz. in May and November. The examination is 
not conducted by the masters, but by gentlemen unconnected 
with the institution, appointed for that purpose, and who 
report to the governors. Prizes are given in the writing 
school, to the boys most proficient in Malting, arithmetic, and 
drawing, and specimens of the writing of all the boys are post- 
ed for inspection. This plan of examining by persons not con- 
nected with a school, prevails in many public establishments,' 
both in England and on the continent of Europe. It is sup- 
posed to insure at once impartial dealing towards the pupils, with 
whom the examiner in general has no acquaintance, and a fair 
report of the character of the instruction, and was the means, at 
one period, of rectifying very great abuses in the mathematical 
school of Christ's Hospital. Examinations are too apt to de- 
generate into a show, if public, without some such precaution, 
especially if viva voce, and yet the method above referred to 
is liable to serious objections. Besides these examinations, every 
boy who has attained the age of thirteen is examined in spell- 
ing and reading English. 

The masters of this establishment have in general a right to 



LON-DOIV BLUE'COAT SCHOOL. 75 

receive each six private pupils, to be educated with the boys of 
the house; this is a privilege conferred with a view to increase 
their stipends, which are not considered adequate. 

The vacations are eighteen days at Easter, four weeks in 
August, and fifteen days at Christmas, Sundays inclusive. Be- 
side this, the afternoons of Saturdays are holidays, and Wednes- 
day is alternately a whole and half-holiday. Those boys whose 
friends wish them to spend the August holidays out of London 
with them, may be permitted to do so; an indulgence formerly 
granted but once in three years, but now annually. On such 
occasions they are required not to appear in the city. Those 
who remain in the hospital during August, have permission 
to visit their friends in London three days in every week, 
unless stopped for punishment's sake. On certain other holidays, 
all the pupils are allowed to leave the enclosure, and on the 
half-holidays those boys who have deserved reward are per- 
mitted to leave the institution, returning by an appointed hour 
in the evening. On these occasions they must wear the uni- 
form of the school, a precaution adopted, partly as insuring the 
good conduct of the pupil, and partly his safety, from the favour- 
able regard of the public towards the institution. During my 
stay in London I frequently met these boys in the streets, and 
never saw one misbehaving, and certainly believe that their 
pecuHar costume insures them protection, attracting much at- 
tention from its antique appearance even in that crowded me- 
tropolis. To prevent absence without leave, the gates are ob- 
served by certain elder boys, who receive tickets of leave to go 
beyond the bounds as a reward for the discharge of their weekly 
office. A bell is also rung by the steward at irregular times, to 
call all together, and detect absentees. 

The boys receive lessons in singing, but only to prepare them 
to take part in church music. 

There -are two libraries which may be consulted under pro- 
per regulations; one, of Enghsh and classical works, in the 
upper grammar school, is intended for the boys of that school, 
and is placed in the Grecians' parlour. The second is of 



76 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

entertaining books, and is under the same control. The books 
are furnished by the governors on the requisition of the head 
master. 

Moral and Religious Instruction and Discipline. We have 
seen that the instruction in church catechism by the masters 
is one part of the school duties; the reading of the Bible, sing- 
ing of psalms, graces, &c., and attendance at Sunday worship 
are other means of religious instruction, and are very regularly 
attended to. On Sunday a Bible lesson is learned, and the boys 
are questioned upon it by the monitors, and the head master 
reads a lecture after supper. Every night prayers are read in 
the hall by one of the Grecians, and a psalm is sung, after 
which a monitor reads a short prayer in the wards before the 
boys retire to bed. 

The discipline in the school-room varies, of course, with the 
instructor, but is in all reasonably good. Corporal punishment is 
sparingly resorted to, and the opinion of the head master, who 
has had much experience in the concerns of the institution, was 
very unfavourable to its frequent use, as tending to harden the 
character of the boys, and to render them less tractable and 
well disposed towards their masters and others. Out of doors 
the pupils are superintended by the steward, who has under his 
charge four servants, called beadles, who attend in the differ- 
ent courts, and report infraction of regulations. The older re- 
cords show that the boys were in former times in the habit 
of very rough conduct in their intercourse with each other. 
This is much modified at present, but struck me as still ad- 
mitting of improvement. On this point I may be fastidious, 
but I believe that the Christian law of love is not to be lost 
sight of in school, if we would have it practised in society, 
and that independence of character is by no means inconsistent 
with kindness in intercourse. The system of fagging which 
prevails at one of the principal English grammar schools which 
I visited, and exists in many others, is not allowed here, and 
the younger boys are not subjected thus to the tyranny of the 
elder ones. Those boys who are selected for trusts in the dor- 



LONDON BLUE-COAT SCHOOL. 77 

mitorles and in school, are chosen for good character, their selec- 
tion being entirely at the master's option, and when they oflend 
they may be displaced by the same authority. In the school 
the eye of the teacher is upon the monitors, and in the dormi- 
tories the authority of the nurse is at hand to control them, so 
that abuse of their delegated power is difficult. At meals, 
the boys are superintended by the steward and matron, and 
certain Grecians. 

The monitors are selected by the steward, with the advice 
of the teachers, from among the boys who are highest in the 
classes of the grammar and writing schools. Besides this 
class, whose duties in and out of school hours have been stated, 
there is another class of boys, called " markers," selected by 
the head master of the grammar school, and solely in reference 
to their rank in that school, to hear the lessons of catechism 
and Sunday reading. These wear a badge, which they are 
allowed to preserve on leaving the school. The two situations 
are not incompatible. 

The nurse and ward monitors are responsible for proper con- 
duct during washing in the morning and evening. Each has 
a ward in charge, containing from fifty to sixty boys, and has 
control over the servants of the ward. There are two special 
nurses for the infirmary. The apartments of the nurse* are at 
the end of the ward, and look into it. She is responsible for the 
general order of the ward, has charge of the mending, of dis- 
tributing clean clothes, &c., which she does through the ward 
monitor. When any of the pupils are unwell, she takes them to 
the infirmary, or reports them to the physician. She reports the 
number who are well each day to the steward for meals. This 
superintendence by females struck me as strange, since some of 
the boys are quite well grown, and the Grecians, who occupy 
a part of the ward, are young men, frequently nearly nineteen 
years of age. The singularity of the arrangement, however, 
disappears, in great part, when it is considered that the same 

* The rules prescribe that the nurses shall be widows, and above forty years 
of age. 



78 ELEEMOSYIVARY INSTITUTIONS. .* 

nurse always has charge of a boy, from his early entrance into 
the institution until he leaves it, and hence becomes as a mo- 
ther to him; and, in fact, some have actually their own children 
among the pupils of the ward. Admitting that care is required 
in the selection of the nurses, I must say that neither from ob- 
servation nor inquiry could I learn that in this institution the 
arrangement was productive of difficulties. This was not, how- 
ever, the case in another school which I visited, where the se- 
lection had been less judicious, and where the discipline was 
rather relaxed. The nurses are assisted in their wards by the 
ward monitors, and superintended by the matron and steward. 
They are present at the prayers said on rising and going to 
bed. The servants of the wards are named, paid, and may be 
discharged by them. 

Corporal punishment is discouraged out of school as well as 
in it. A few boys may be indulged by sitting up after the 
others, as a reward for good conduct, but none can be up later 
than a quarter before ten o'clock. The Grecians have the pri- 
vilege of sitting up until ten o'clock. 

It might naturally be supposed that, in so large an institution 
as this, having within its enclosure between seven and eight hun- 
dred youths, one would find an exact code of rules and regula- 
tions for discipline. But such is not the case, nor do they seem to 
feel the want of it. The discretionary power vested in the dif- 
ferent officers works without rules. General verbal instruc- 
tions ai'e given to the inferior officers by their superiors, but 
the usages of the school have passed into a common law, well 
understood by both the pupils and officers. 

A well regulated gradation of privileges, constituting a gra- 
dual assumption of the entire responsibility of his conduct by 
the pupil is, in my opinion, essential to the success of an insti- 
tution which aims at preparing youth for the business of life. 
The want of it is the cause, no doubt, why so many fall away 
from rectitude on issuing from these recluse establishments, and 
finding themselves in entirely novel circumstances. Partial at- 
tempts have been made, in some schools, to remedy this difficul- 
ty ; for example, at the Orphan-house of Halle, the pupil has an 



^- LONDON BLUE-COAT SCHOOL. 79 

allowance in money for the purchase of his breakfast, that he 
may learn to dispose of money on his own account. At Ham- 
burgh, the pupils are sent of errands into the city, to become 
familiar with its localities and the manners of the people. In 
one of the grammar schools of Holland, a similar idea is ap- 
plied to a gradation of instruction between the hourly respon- 
sibility of the pupil of an ordinary school, and the entire free- 
dom of the member of a university; and a plan in part resem- 
bling this has been adopted at Geneva, in their more recent 
arrangements for higher education. In this institution the 
monitors and markers have privileges, but the Grecians are 
those who are pre-eminently favoured. They receive each fifty 
dollars a year to dispose of, and each one has a study, and a 
bed separated by a curtain from others in the dormitories. 
They have a parlour in common, a superior table, and a dress 
differing somewhat from that of the other pupils; retire at dif- 
ferent hours from the others, are allowed to leave the premises 
during the day, except in school hours ; assist in keeping order 
within doors, being superior to the monitors, and aid the mas- 
ters in school. These arrangements, as far as they extend, 
are highly judicious, and productive of good results. 

Physical Education. The health of these boys appears, in 
general, remarkably good, and their physical development 
even above the average. They are not overburthened with in- 
door work, and are kept as much as possible in the open air. 
Their play-ground, however, is rather limited in extent, and their 
sports are, in consequence, not of the most athletic kind. The 
frequent opportunities of leaving the enclosure remedy this de- 
fect in part, and their cloisters give them great advantages 
over boys who have no covered play-ground, especially in so 
humid a climate as that of England. While at play, they are 
superintended by beadles, of whom there arc four, one having 
charge of each court. The beadles also superintend the boys 
at rising and washing, and one of them has charge of the small 
gate, which is commonly open, and prevents any pupil from 
egress without a pass. This only applies to the younger pupils, 
the Grecians, as already stated, having free egress except dur- 



80 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

ing school hours and after night. The steward, besides his duties 
already generally mentioned, is responsible for the conduct of 
the boys while at play and at meals; no boy can be absent 
from meals without his authority, and he may punish by con- 
finement to bounds or to the room any infringements of good 
order. He regulates not only the receipts, but the delivery of 
provisions, in which offices he is assisted by boys detailed for 
the purpose. The pupils, under his direction, receive the pro- 
visions, and serve and clear the tables. Some of these offices 
are rewards, and carry with them small gratifications in the 
way of leaves to be absent from bounds, &,c., others are punish- 
ments for faults committed. The diet is plain, but wholesome; 
the mode of serving the table, the utensils, &c., are, however, 
antique in the extreme. The matron sends the portions for their 
tables to the nurses, who distribute to the boys and one of the 
Grecians, or deputy Grecians, the nurse superintending, carves, 
while the boys who are appointed for the purpose act as waiters. 
A portion of Scripture and a prayer are read, and grace said or 
sung, before beginning the meal; thanks are returned at the 
close, and the dining-hall is vacated at signals from the steward, 
who presides. Besides the regular meals three times a day, 
bread is distributed once, one of the boys carrying a basket, 
and another serving. Of the various offices filled by the boys, 
I found it impossible to discriminate those considered marks of 
dishonour from the others, but usage has rendered the artificial 
distinctions perfectly familiar to the pupils. What remains of 
the provisions after meals is distributed to the poor. 

Clothing. The supply of clothing consists of two suits every 
year, and is ample to keep the boys looking neat. Their cos- 
tume is surprisingly antique, being, in fact, the same which was 
adopted at or near the period of the foundation, and from which 
the popular name of the Blue-coat School is derived. As it is 
entirely inapplicable to the use of a modern school, I may pass 
over the subject with one remark, however, bearing upon the 
health. The cap is so small as to afford a very inconsiderable 
protection to the head, and being inconvenient is, in fact, not 
used at all, so that both out and in doors, these boys appear 



LONDON BLUE-COAT SCHOOL. 81 

with bare heads. That this has an effect in preventing com- 
plaints of the head, such as ring-worms and scald-heads, I 
make no doubt from observation, and in some climates, or 
when weather permits, the practice is, I believe, beneficial. It 
prevails even more extensively on the continent than in Eng- 
land, and I was quite surprised to see the pupils of Mr. Fellen- 
berg's school, at Hofwyl, in Switzerland, going bare headed, 
without inconvenience, out of doors, when I required a fire 
within. 

The mending is done on the premises, the clothes being re- 
paired by the nurses, and the shoes by a workman constantly 
employed for the purpose. The regulation requiring the pupils 
to wear the uniform of the school when absent on leave from 
its bounds, acts as a great stimulus to neatness and the care of 
clothing. 

Cleanliness. This subject has attracted much attention here, 
and great improvements have been made in the arrangements 
for promoting cleanliness. Formerly, the boys of one dormi- 
tory washed in common in a trough, and wiped upon one 
towel. Thus any disease of the head or eyes was propagated 
rapidly and certainly, and tiie want of cleanliness tended to en- 
courage the production of such diseases. Besides a large lava- 
tory, capable of accommodating one hundred boys, and fur- 
nished with a supply of hot and cold water, each dormitory 
has now an adjacent smaller lavatory, well supplied with water; 
the boys enter by squads, and each has a stream of running 
water in which to wash, a towel, soap, tooth-brush, &c. Be- 
sides washing twice a day, their feet are washed once a week 
in winter, and oftener in summer. These precautions should 
be multiplied during summer with us, to suit the requirements 
of our climate. 

The boys sleep on iron bedsteads, one in each bed, the bed- 
ding being supplied at the discretion of the matron. They make 
their own beds, clean their shoes, and do other offices of police 
and domestic economy, as already stated. The sweeping of 
the dormitories is a punishment inflicted for offences in the 
ward, for laziness, or slovenliness. 
11 



82 ELEEMOSYN-ARY IIVSTITUTIO\S. 

Sickness. The sick are taken care of by the nurses, at the 
infirmary, a building apart from the schools and dormitories, 
and cases which may be infectious or contagious are treated 
in separate wards. An apothecary, wlio prescribes in common 
cases, resides upon the premises, and the consulting physician 
attends at the hospital once a week regularly, and whenever 
sent for. There is a small dispensary attached to the infirmary. 
The diet of the boys in the infirmary is under the control of 
the physicians, and, of course, differs in general from that of 
the pupils in health. It is prepared by one of the infirmary 
nurses, who has a small fund advanced, for the disbursements 
of which she is responsible : the nurse has an assistant, when 
necessary. The friends of the sick boys, who visit them, are 
not allowed to bring in any article of food or medicine, unless 
by permission of the apothecary. 



ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS OF GERMANY. 83 



CHAPTER II. 



ORPHAN-HOUSES OF GERMANY. 

Having completed an account of the most interesting of the 
eleemosynary institutions of Great Britain which I visited, I 
proceed next, according to the plan already sketched, to those 
of Germany. I have found it impossible, M^ithout describing in- 
stitutions of inferior note, to give the South of Germany its pro- 
portion of notice, and, after much reflection, have concluded 
to confine myself, in reference to it, to an account of the 
Orphan-house of Prague. I might, indeed, have added that 
of Stuttgard, in Wurtemberg; but having been there during a 
time of vacation, I have collected only printed results in relation 
to it, and nothing from personal observation. The institution 
of Frankfort on Maine, belongs, geographically, to those of the 
middle of Germany, though I am av^^are that the city is con- 
sidered by its people to lean in feelings and manners to the 
south. 

This chapter will include a description of the Orphan-house of 
Hamburgh, a notice of that of Altona, a description of the 
Franke Foundations at Halle, of the Military Orphan-house at 
Potsdam, a statement of the courses of instruction at the Mili- 
tary Orphan-house at Annaburg, in Prussia, a notice of the Civil 
Orphan-houses at and near Potsdam, a description of the Or- 
phan-house of Frankfort on Maine, and of the School for Sol- 
diers' Children at Struppen, near Dresden, and of the Orphan- 
house of St. John, at Prague. 

ORPHAN-HOUSE AT HAMBURGH, 

The Orphan-house at Hamburgh was considered, not many 
years since, as one of the most remarkable in Germany. It 
had attached to it, or rather growing out of it, a seminary for 
teachers, the benefits of which were felt not only within, but 



84 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

without the establishment, and the arrangements for education 
were considered to be well matured and administered. 

I propose first to give a brief account of what the institution 
was, and then to notice its present condition; both the past and 
present state of the establishment appearing to me fraught with 
instruction. In general, if an institution fails, it is more from 
the inefficiency of its teachers than from defects in its arrange- 
ments. An efficient teacher may supply many deficiencies in a 
plan, but there are some cases, of which this is one, in which a 
defective organization places the remedy beyond the teacher's 
reach. 

Historij, Buildwgs, <5'C. The establishment was founded by 
the exertions of two refugee noblemen from Holland, De Greve 
and Van Petkum, in 1597. It was commenced in an old 
church granted to the trustees, among whom were its founders, 
and the present buildings were not erected until 1782-5. The 
pecuniary resources, the number and kind of pupils, and the 
general arrangements, have varied frequently. The revenues, 
which depended in part on payments to be made from church 
funds, were often inadequate to support the number of pupils, 
which at one time rose as high as eight hundred. Means 
were provided for introducing foundlings into the house with- 
out exposure, whi-^Ji, after trial, were abandoned, though the 
house is still a foundling hospital.* Among the arrangements for 
teaching deserving of notice, the rudiments of a mutual instruc- 
tion system were introduced early in the seventeenth century, and 
a method of teaching reading and writing together, which has 
been since, in an improved form, introduced with good eflect, 
was adopted about the same time. Both resulted from a desire 
for undue economy; the first, to economise teachers, the second 
books, and neither appear, in the form in which they were 
tried, to have had any success. The spirit which prompted 
these experiments was not of the kind to render them efl^cctive, 

* To the credit of the morals of Hamburgh I ought to mention tliat, at pre- 
sent, not more than one foundling a year, on the average, is received at this 
house. The means of introducing them rclorred (o in tlie text, was by a turn- 
ing-box, eimilai- to that still used at the Foundling Hospital of Paris. 



ORPHAN-HOUSE OP HAMBURGH. 85 

if the ideas had been ever so good. Tlie mortaUty in this 
house during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was fre- 
quently as high as from sixteen to eighteen per cent. It has 
been in this century reduced as low as three. 

The present buildings are in general commodious, wanting, 
however, the requisite accommodations for the families of the 
masters, who, when married, must live off the premises, an evil, 
the effects of which will be noticed hereafter. There are two 
divisions of the house, one for boys, the other for girls, and a 
chapel common to both sexes. On the boys' side there are three 
class-rooms, a large room for singing and writing lessons, a 
room for tailor's work, in which the boys make and mend 
their own clothes, an extensive lavatory, and a bath-house; a 
dining-hall below stairs, and dormitories above. The sick 
wards are in the upper stories, in a building joining the two 
wings. The trustees have a meeting-room in the house, and 
the economist (steward), rooms for his family.* 

The institution is governed by thirteen trustees, consisting of 
the first burgomaster of the city as president, of two senators, 
two aldermen, and eight other members, usually merchants, 
who are elected by the city councils, and one of whom goes 
out every year. 

Admission, ^c. Fatherless children below eight years of 
age may be admitted at any time. If healthy, the children 
are boarded out until they reach eight years, if not healthy, 
they are placed in the sick wards. Every three months, chil- 
dren of eight years old or over, who are living out, become 
members of the family within the house. At fourteen the 
child is apprenticed and leaves the institution. Formerly, 
as already stated, those who were fit for the occupation, were 
instructed as teachers in the school itself. Not less than five 
per cent, of the pupils were found thus qualified, and willing 
to devote themselves to the laborious occupation of school- 
masters. The teacher's class contained usually from eight to 

* The small size of the kitchen required among these people to supply four 
hundred children with food, would appear incredible to those used to the arrange- 
ments of England and the United States, 



86 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

twelve individuals. The plan of education which follows ex- 
isted at that time. 

Intellectual and Moral Education. This was declared to be 
of a kind adapted to fit a child for some " useful calling" and 
excluding the higher branches of education. 

The pupils were divided into five classes. First, the elemen- 
tary class, subdivided according to its numbers into four or 
five sections, and instructed by pupils of the house who were 
preparing as teachers. On entering this class the children were 
usually between eight and nine years of age, and they remain- 
ed in it two years, passing, every six months, into a higher di- 
vision. The studies in this class were— first, exercises of speech 
and thought, orally, the teachers following Von Turk's Percep- 
tions by the Senses, or Pohlman's Book of Nature.* Second, 
reading by the phonic method, which will be described in a 
subsequent part of this Report. Third, arithmetic, especially 
mental arithmetic, according to Pestalozzi's method. The four 
ground rules were taught in the higher division. 

Fourth, elementary geometry, notions of form, measure, and 
construction. Fifth, writing, according to the method used by 
Pestalozzi. 

Neither of the books used for the exercises of induction have, 
I believe, been translated into English, nor have equivalent ones 
been published in our language. The admirable Lessons on Ob- 
jects, by Miss Mayo, are designed for children more advanced 
in attainments and culture than these, though not in age. The 
infant-school lessons on objects practised in many of the English 
schools, would come nearer to the requirements of this class, 
but are still of a different kind from those adopted by Von Tiirk 
and Pohlman. Indeed, as the locality of a school, the school-room 
itself, and the implements for teaching afford the most instruc- 
tive objects for beginning with these lessons, they must vary in 
a great degree with the school itself, and none other than a 
general guide can be given to a teacher, which, however, would 

* I insert tlie names of the text-books, because tliey give an idea in their titles 
of the nature of the exercises. The names of the others are suppressed. They 
are to be found in tlie college library. 



ORPHAPf-HOUSE OF HAMBURGH. 87 

be amply sufficient for one fully imbued with the spirit of the 
method. It contains within itself the elements of all instruction, 
preparing a basis for elementary arithmetic, natural philosophy, 
natural history, grammar, geography, geometry, and morals. Its 
importance can only be fully realized by seeing it well practised. 

Mental arithmetic having been long used in our schools and 
in those of England, we have many excellent works on the 
subject. It serves admirably to strengthen the memory for ab- 
stractions, to give the concentration of mind required to draw 
conclusions rapidly,, when surrounded by persons and things 
tending to interfere with close thought. As it comes to its results 
rather by ingenious processes than by rule, it gives great readi- 
ness in inventing methods in cases having reference to quantity. 

For the ekmentary notions of form, our books are agai^i 
much behind the German school-books, though lately Mr. Rei- 
ner has supplied in part this deficiency.* As a basis for geo- 
metry, for the useful exercises of geometrical analysis, and as 
giving to the young mind clear ideas of the connexion between 
arithmetic and geometry, I have seen no exercises equal to them. 

Pestalozzi's writing method is too well known to need re- 
mark; in general it applies better to the formation of the Ger- 
man WTitten letters than to ours. 

In 1826-7, from one hundred and seventy-four to one hun- 
dred and thirty-eight pupils were instructed in this class by the 
pupils who were serving their novitiate as teachers. 

After passing through the elementary class, the pupils enter- 
ed one of the three parallel classes, so called because they pur- 
sued the same studies and consisted of individuals of nearly 
the same age. They remained in one of these classes generally 
two years, or until nearly thirteen years of age. Each parallel 
class was composed of two divisions, and had one teacher. The 
subjects of instruction were as follows: — First, Religious in- 
struction, Bible history, and the Lutheran Catechism, Trefurt's 
Bible stories. Second, German grammar. Third, arithmetic, 

* Lessons on Number; The Master's Manual, by C Reiner, London, 1835; 
Lessons on Form, by Charles Reiner, London, 1837, 



88 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

and geometry, according to Von Turk's method. Fourth, useful 
knowledge, the teacher using Hoffman's Instructor in Natural 
Objects, and Zechariah's Geography. Fifth, rhetorical reading. 

The subjects of study and works used, probably require some 
comment. The religious instruction was given in the lower 
classes orally, by the relation of some of the principal Bible 
stories, with an exposition of their moral ; in the higher classes 
by the selection of the historical portion from the Old and New 
Testament, to be read by the pupils, and then by drawing their 
attention, in a familiar lecture, to the moral of the history, and 
by unfolding also its application. Frequent explanations of the 
peculiar manners and customs of the nations treated of in the 
sacred volume, and of the natural history of the East, throw a 
great charm about this kind of instruction. The feelings and 
dispositions of the children are ascertained by their answers to 
the questions put by the teachers, and thus the lesson is made a 
powerful means of moral training. 

The Manual of Magnitude and Form by Von Tiirk, is another 
one of his useful productions, which has not, I believe, been 
translated; it is the result of his practice in teaching, and con- 
tains much that is good in regard to the connexion of the two 
sciences of number and extension. 

The term "useful knowledge," by its limitation to certain 
subjects, being calculated to throw other important ones into 
the shade, is certainly objectionable. By it, however, is under- 
stood a combination of the study of the natural productions of 
the earth with its natural and artificial divisions, and the history 
of its inhabitants, or a combination of geography, history, and 
natural history, admirably calculated to interest the pupil deeply 
in the elements of these branches. 

The parallel classes were united for instruction in arithmetic 
and writing, the lower divisions of the former having their les- 
sons in the morning, the higher in the afternoon. All the pu- 
pils having a taste for drawing attended the drawing class, and 
the elder boys received lessons in vocal music. 

There were half yearly examinations in presence of the 
trustees on these subjects. 



ORPHAN-HOUSE OF HAMBURGH. 89 

This instruction completed the intellectual course of the pu- 
pils in general, who were bound to trades on leaving the insti- 
tution. Those who displayed the necessary intelligence and 
other qualities which promised that they would make instruc- 
tors, after passing through the studies of this class, entered 
the Select Class, which was under the direction of the head 
teacher, the catechist of the house, and pursued the following 
course : 

First. Religious instruction, Bible explanations, and the larger 
Lutheran Catechism. Second. Mathematics. Third. Ger- 
man. Exercises of style. Fourth. Physics, by familiar lec- 
tures. Fifth. Technology and natural history, by familiar lec- 
tures and the examination of specimens. Sixth. Geography. 
Seventh. History, particularly of Germany. 

To render the instruction in "useful knowledge," physics, and 
technology efficient, a small collection of models, apparatus, 
and products of nature, art, and manufactures; a solar micro- 
scope, planetarium, &c., were provided; this collection still 
remains, but is by no means extended enough to meet the 
teacher's wishes. Nothing can contribute so much to the due 
effect of such studies as collections, the specimens of which 
the pupil can handle himself. From them he can learn by his 
own observation, and may be led to further observation by his 
own reflection and awakened curiosity. Such a collection as 
this must be expensive, and hence it is seldom seen. In the La 
Martiniere school of Lyons, such collections and methods form 
the characteristic features of the establishment, of which I shall 
speak more particularly hereafter. We are most favourably 
situated for carrying out this principle, and, if it be once prac- 
tically demonstrated, even partially, the board will, I am sure, 
encounter the expense of its complete development, in view of 
the importance of the results. 

The subjects of instruction heretofore mentioned are still re- 
quired to be taught, but the plan of classification is entirely 
changed. The boys are now divided into three classes, one of 
which contains children of the ages of fourteen, eleven, and 
eight years; another of thirteen, ten, and seven; a third of 
12 



90 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

twelve, nine, and six; the same individuals remaining with the 
same teacher throughout their course. The least reflection 
will render it obvious that the instruction of three divisions of 
a class in such very different stages of progress, by one teacher, 
is impossible. If the instruction is addressed to the highest divi- 
sion, it is too high for the lowest, and if to the lowest, it does 
not employ the highest. The active mind of the catechist, 
whose recitations I attended, had adopted various devices to 
obviate this difficulty, but in vain. Even in the religious in- 
struction, which may be considered as more appropriately ad- 
dressed than any other branch, to various intelligences, it was 
obvious that a part of the class answered too readily, and the 
instruction w^as lost to another part, who did not even under- 
.^tand the answers of their comrades. In the lectures on phy- 
sics and on technology, the case was, of course, much worse. 
Indeed, I do not believe the difficulties inherent in such a plan 
remediable. It thus happens that an arrangement which, to 
persons not conversant practically with instruction, may seem to 
realize some leading ideas of equality or emulation among teach- 
ers, or the like, may bring destruction upon an entire system. 

In the school for teachers attached to the Orphan-house, as 
has been stated, there were always from eight to twelve pupils, 
who remained four years preparing for their duties. The first 
two years were devoted to theoretical studies; the second em- 
braced, also, the practice of teaching. In the former years 
they extended their knowledge of the Bible, of the German and 
French languages, of mathematics and physics, of drawing 
and gymnastics, and were taught the theory of music, practis- 
ing on the piano. The last years they studied anthropology, 
the art of teaching, the history of the science of teaching, and 
of its methods. During the latter period they were engaged in 
teaching under the eye of the catechist, or of the other masters. 
They were required to pass a satisfactory examination at en- 
tering the class, in the middle of their course, and also at its 
close. This experiment is, in all respects, an encouraging one. 
The number of pupils having capacity and willingness to devote 
themselves to the occupation of teaching was nearly five per cent. 



ORPHAX-IIOUSE OF HAMBURGH. 91 

of the whole school. Wiiile receiving their special education, 
they were conferring a benefit on the institution by acting as 
teachers, and, subsequently, diffused the excellent methods in 
which they had been trained through their own and neighbour- 
ing communities. 

I pass now to the moral education, which, except in the 
withdrawing of the influence of the select class and other de- 
tails, remains nearly as heretofore. The moral education is 
promoted, first, by the attendance in the chapel, by prayers, 
morning and evening, and by religious instruction in the school. 
Second, by the superintendence of the teachers, in turns, during 
the hours of play. At present, the married teachers not being 
in the house, this superintendence is confided to the porters, 
which thus changes its character. I have had many opportu- 
nities of observation in reference to this point, and feel that 
a proper method of providing for superintendence out of school 
hours, is difficult to devise. If the teacher is thus employed, 
he is worn out by the additional labour; and if the pupils are 
confided to an inferior person, he has neither the influence nor 
the qualities of observation of a teacher, and thus a very im- 
portant part of education is lost, namely, that of the play- 
ground. The ample endowment of the Girard College requires 
that the interests of our pupils should always prevail over pe- 
cuniary considerations, and in this view we should prefer in- 
creasing the corps of teachers beyond what is absolutely neces- 
sary for the duties of instruction, that one or more of them in 
the several departments may be on duty as superintendents, 
especially in the lower schools. Well trained pupils of the elder 
classes will make their best assistants. 

The superintendence in the dormitories and in the lavatory 
of this institution rests always with the porter, who is assisted 
by the chiefs of divisions, selected for this purpose from among 
the boys. 

Third. Moral training is effected by varied occupation of the 
hours not devoted to school, particularly by handicrafts and 
exercise. At present, the only mechanical employment is one 
which is ill suited to the pupils, because entirely sedentary, that 



92 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

of tailoring. It is true that general manual dexterity is ac- 
quired by this trade, and that it may, in some circumstances, 
be of utility in after life; but to keep the pupils at work merely 
on account of the saving to be effected in making their clothes, 
is carrying it to an extent which interferes with their proper 
physical education. Fourth. Moral education is promoted by 
rewards and punishments, the former consisting in presents of 
books and money, in permission to walk at hours not allowed 
to others, in doing the errands of the house in town : the latter 
in private admonitions, exclusion from the play-ground and 
from the walking-parties, confinement, reports to the trustees, 
and, if necessary, flogging. In order to prevent the improper 
use of money given to the children, the larger sums are depo- 
sited with the steward, and they receive parts of these deposits 
in coin of the house. This money the porter is allowed to ex- 
pend for them for its full value, and at the discretion of the pu- 
pils. As a reward for diligence and good conduct, the chil- 
dren are allowed to visit their relations four times a year, and 
their relations may visit them once a month. During the gene- 
ral hoHdays, the principal ones being before Easter, leaves of 
absence may be granted to pupils whose relations wish to re- 
ceive them. 

Physical Education. The diet is plain and would be con- 
sidered with us scanty; the breakfast is of bread and milk, the 
dinner of soup and vegetables, with boiled meat, and rarely 
roasted meat, fruit being occasionally given in addition in the 
summer; in the afternoon, rye bread and water; in the evening, 
wheat bread and milk. 

The pupils wash their faces and hands three times a day in 
cold water. The lavatory is at present a separate building, in 
the yard of the orphan-house. Each boy has his basin of por- 
celain placed in a trough, and a whole series of basins may be 
filled and emptied at once, so that the monitor in charge of the 
division is enabled to regulate the time of washing. In sum- 
mer they bathe at least once a week. 

The clothing is simple but sufficient, consisting of a round- 
about, vest, and pantaloons of blue cloth for the in-door winter 



ORPHAN-HOUSE AT ALTONA. 93 

dress. Besides walking occasionally, the pupils formerly had 
regular lessons in gymnastics; the exercises are still kept up, 
but are voluntary. Military exercises are sometimes practised. 
In winter, the yard, which may be in part covered with water 
for the purpose, affords a place for skating. Formerly the pu- 
pils were taught turner's work, and the making of pasteboard 
boxes, &c., but these employments have been discontinued. 
The tailor's work can hardly be considered as promoting the 
physical education. 

The provision for the sick has already been alluded to. A 
physician and surgeon visit the house daily, and the sick are 
under the charge of a nurse and assistant. 

The order of the day is as follows: 

The pupils rise at half past five in summer, and six in winter, 
wash and dress, at seven o'clock breakfast, from eight to half 
past eleven are in school, at twelve dine, play from one to two, 
are in school from two to four, receive a luncheon of bread, and 
are permitted to exercise from four to half past four, are in school 
from half past four to six, are occupied with mihtary exercises 
and walking, or walking and play, from six to eight, at eight 
sup and have prayers, and retire at nine o'clock. Thus seven 
hours are occupied in school and study, five are allotted to both 
exercise and recreation, three hours to three hours and a-half 
to domestic matters, and eight and a-half to nine hours to sleep. 

Domestic Economy. The five hundred and thirty-seven pu- 
pils of this institution cost, in 1836, one hundred and five thou- 
sand and eighty marcs banco, or about thirty thousand dollars ; 
the cost of each was therefore about fifty-six dollars. Of 
these five hundred and thirty-seven pupils, the four hundred 
which are in the house require for attendance, &c., three 
nurses, two cooks, three female servants, and three male ser- 
vants, of whom one is the porter; the female pupils, however, 
do much of the work of the entire house. 

ORPHAN-HOUSE AT ALTONA. 

While at Hamburgh, I visited the Orphan-house and schools 
attached to it, in Altona in Denmark. The number of orphans 



94 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

here educated is sixty-two. The system of instruction is that 
adopted generally in the public schools of Denmarli, and is a 
modified Lancastrian method, the lower classes being taught 
by monitors under the direction of a teacher, and the upper 
classes being taught by the teacher himself. It does not appear 
to me necessary to enter into the details of this method, but 
rather briefly to state my conclusions. The instruction of the 
elementary classes, it is assumed, may be left in a degree 
to monitors, the lessons being revised by the teachers. The 
monitors, however, did not succeed as far as I could discern 
in communicating true instruction, and in their hands the me- 
thod of Pestalozzi degenerated into a mechanical and lifeless 
routine. 

Upon such a basis I believe that no teacher can possibly 
succeed in raising a proper intellectual superstructure. I did 
not pass sufl!icient time here to enable me to give a proper prac- 
tical judgment of all the results of this system, yet I may be al- 
lowed to support the opinion just advanced by the negative 
evidence, that, as far as I saw the upper classes, there was 
nothing which contradicted it. 

While visiting the lower classes of one of the public schools 
near the orphan-house, with an intelligent teacher, the inefficient 
instruction in arithmetic by the monitors particularly struck me, 
and the fact that the spiritless repetition of a string of sentences 
from the Pestalozzian course of addition, and a merely me- 
chanical use of the illustrations by blocks by the monitors, fail- 
ed entirely to convey a proper idea of the subject to the class, 
who in general appeared listless and inattentive. The teacher 
look up the instruction, and immediately the whole scene ap- 
peared changed, and it was soon evident that he had interested 
and attentive hearers, who, under similar instruction, would have 
proved learners. 

FRANKS FOUNDATIONS AT HALLE. 

The Orphan-house of Halle has clustered around it the vari- 
ous foundations known by the name of its founder, Professor 



FRANKE FOUNDATION'S AT HALLE. 95 

Franke,* of the University of Halle. This institution has pro- 
bably been more influential than any other in promoting the 
cause of the fatherless, having led to similar establishments, not 
only in Germany, but also in Great Britain. It is an example 
of what may be done with very small means, tracing its origin 
to the education of four fatherless children in the house of 
Franke, then settled as a clergyman at Halle. This orphan- 
house was established in 1695, and successively the various 
foundations now connected with it have been added, all of 
which are made to minister to the maintenance or education 
of the orphans. They may be thus divided.f 

First. Those exclusively devoted to purposes of revenue, and 
which include establishments for the sale of books, drugs, and 
medicines. Second. The schools, six in number, viz. an ele- 
mentary free school for boys and girls, a "higher" school for 
boys and girls, a superior school for girls, a "real school" for 
boys, a Latin school, and a " pa}dagogium-."J Third. The 
educational institutions.§ These comprise the orphan-house, 
the boarding institution, and the psedagogium. 

These establishments not only provide the public instruction 
of different grades, required by the citizens of Halle, but col- 
lect pupils from other parts of Prussia. As we are especially 
concerned with the orphan-house, I shall only briefly give an 
account of the intention of the other educational institutions, 
make some general remarks on the schools, and, omitting the 
first division, which sufficiently explains itself, pass on at once 
to an account of the orphan-house. 

The educational institutions serve as the homes of the chil- 
dren who are collected here, and w^ho use the schools in com- 

* Franke was Professor of Greek and Oriental Literature, and pastor of a 
church at Glauca, a suburb of Halle, where he resided. 

t This division is by Dr. H. A. Niemeyer, the director of these foundations, 
to whose kindness I owe the particulars which I give in respect to them, and an 
opportunity of visiting those parts of the establislnnent more immediately bear- 
ing upon the objects of my mission. 

\ -These names will be found explained subsequently. 

§ This term is used here in contradistinction to instruction, by education be- 
ing intended training when the pupil i? not in schooL 



96 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

mon with the clay scholars from the town. All the buildings 
containing these various establishments are arranged about 
courts, which communicate with each other, so that the whole 
series is closely connected. They are very plain, having been 
erected with a view to furnish the necessary accommodations 
with the smallest possible expenditure. 

The Boarding Institution is a large establishment, intended 
to provide for the education of pupils when not occupied in 
school. The boys residing in it are under the direction of 
tutors, each of whom has a division to superintend, and in re- 
lation to which he is to supply the place of the parent. As 
many as eight pupils occupy a room, thus making the expenses of 
lodging but trifling, and rendering the institution entirely acces- 
sible to the middle ranks of society.* The schools which the 
boys attend are selected in reference to their destination in 
life. They dine in common, having two tables at diflerent 
rates, a plan which, however, is not approved of by the 
director. 

The PcBclagogium. This is a boarding-school, but is en- 
tirely distinct from all the other establishments, providing edu- 
cation and maintenance within itself. It is intended to prepare 
young men for the universities, and, in its educational arrange- 
ments, to afford an efl^ectual substitute for judicious parental 
control. There is a small parlour and sitting-room for every 
two young men, and four such suites of rooms are upon one 
floor, three of them occupied by the pupils, and a fourth by a 
tutor, who is expected to be their friend and director as well 
as instructor. The execution of this plan depending upon the 
personal character of these tutors, has various degrees of suc- 
cess, but in general it works well. The instruction is of the 
same grade as that of the gymnasia, or grammar schools of 
Prussia. 

The series of schools embraces the whole range of public in- 
struction. It begins with the common or elementary schools, 

* They pay but from cigiity to one hundred rix thalers, fifty-six to seventy 
dollars, per annum, for maintenance and education, every thing except clothes 
and books being provided. 



FRANKE FOUxVDATIONS AT HALLE. 97 

in which the instruction terminates at the age of twelve or four- 
teen years; contains a "higher" or middle school, called, also, 
a "burgher school," the courses of which end at fourteen or 
sixteen years, and where the pupil is prepared to enter life as a 
tradesman. Also, a "real school," its courses ending at sixteen 
or eighteen, and intended to prepare for the higher mechanical 
occupations; and a classical school, or "gymnasium," retaining 
its pupils until eighteen or nineteen years of age, and fitting 
them for admission to the university. 

As the elementary school does not prepare for the middle 
school, the latter has its own elementary classes, and after 
passing through them, the student enters the real school, or the 
gymnasium, according to his destination in after life. Each 
school has its inspector or head master, appointed by the di- 
rector, and responsible to him. And the head of the whole is 
the provincial school-board of the Province of Magdeburgh, 
who cannot, however, change the system without the consent 
of the director. This collection of schools furnishes an epitome 
of the grades of public instruction in Prussia, exclusive of the 
schools for teachers and industrial schools; and had I not be- 
come acquainted w'ith them by careful study in the capita], a 
prolonged visit to Halle w^ould have afforded a compendious 
way of acquiring a knowledge of them. In the schools of the 
capital there are, however, advantages in regard to the means 
of procuring teachers which cannot be expected here. As the 
schools of Prussia will be described particularly in the second 
part of my Report, I shall confine my remarks at present prin- 
cipally to the middle and classical schools, which are attended 
by the pupils of the orphan-house.* 

* The number of pupils in the different schools, in 1837, was as follows : 



Free School for boys 


350, 


in four classes. 


" " " girls 


350, 


<i it. 


Burgher School for boys 


600, 


twelve " 


«» " » girls 


400, 


eigfht " 


Superior " " " 


100, 


six " 


Real " " boys 


150, 


five " 


Carried forward, 


1950, 




13 







1)8 ELpEMOSY^ARV INSTITUTION'S. 

General Administration. The director of the Franke Foun- 
dations is appointed by his predecessor, and the office has re- 
mained, generally, up to this time, in the family of the founder. 
He has the chief control of the administration, being respon- 
sible, however, in regard to the schools, as already stated, to 
the provincial school-board, and making a report of his expen- 
ditures to the Minister of Public Instruction. He is assisted 
by a council composed of a co-director, as an " economy in- 
spector," of a syndic, who is the law-officer of the institution, 
and of a treasurer. These, as well as all other officers, are 
appointed by him. He has, also, a secretary, and there is 
an accountant, who assists the treasurer. All benefices, sti- 
pends, places of orphans, &c., are granted by the director; all 
regulations also are made by him, and he is thus supreme within 
the institution. The immediate administration of the orphan- 
house, however, is under an inspector. 

Admission, Discharge, SfC. To be qualified for admission to 
the orphan-house, a child must be poor, fatherless, legitimate, 
healthy, of good morals, and between ten and fourteen years 
of age. It is preferred that his parents should have belonged 
to the middle classes of society; and if he have property, or 
receive property during his stay in the house, the income of 
it must go to the foundation during his residence there. 

Applications for admission are addressed to the Director of 
Franke's Foundations, and must be accompanied by certifi- 
cates of the birth of the child in wedlock, the death of the 
father, of vaccination and general good health, of previous 
attendance at school ; and, from the child's guardian, and the 

Brought forward, ] 950, 

Gymnasium or grammar school 300, in six classes. 
Paedagogium 80, five " 



Total, 2330, 



In the establishments for education there were at the same time, in the or- 
phan-house 114 boys and 16 girls, in the boarding-school 230 boys, and in the 
pcedagogium 80, total 436. Tliese pupils attended the schools, and arc counted 
in the niunbers above stated. 



FRANKE FOUNDATIONS AT HALLE. 99 

chief magistrate of his dwelling-place, of the pecuniary and 
family circumstances of the applicant, and of his surviving 
parent. These are sent to the inspector of the orphan-house, 
who reports thereon, and if the report is satisfactory to the 
director, the child's name is inscribed on the list of candidates. 
Admissions take place according to the order of application, 
and when there is a vacancy, due notice is given of it to the 
friends of the child whose name heads the list of candidates. 
If the child is not presented, and his friends are not heard from 
at the appointed time, his application is considered to be with- 
drawn. Cases of withdrawal of the application, or of the death 
of the child are, however, expected to be reported to the director. 
On the arrival of the child at the institution, he is reported to 
the inspector of the orphan-house, by whom he is assigned a 
place. All control over him is understood to have been relin- 
quished by his relations, who are enjoined not to interfere with 
him in any way, always excepting the right of complaint to the 
director. Any pocket-money intended for the child must be 
handed to the inspector, under penalty of his dismission. 

Those pupils who are found worthy, are sent to the univer- 
sity, but, in general, they all leave the institution at about four- 
teen years of age to go to a trade. In cases of misconduct, the 
friends are bound to receive them back. The institution does 
not undertake to find situations for them on leaving it, but en- 
deavours so to do, advising with their friends on the subject. 
Those who leave the institution with credit, are entitled to cer- 
tain small gratuities. 

As the parts of the establishment intended for the residence, 
instruction, performance of religious exercises, and taking of 
meals, of the orphan pupils, are distinct in their administration, I 
shall consider the occupations of the pupils under the divisions 
of the house, the schools, the refectory, and the chapel, to the 
discipline of which the orphans are subjected in turn, during 
'the day or week. 

The House. The orphan-house is superintended by an in- 
spector, who is responsible to the director of the Franke Foun- 
dations. This latter directs the disbursement of moneys for the 



100 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

school, and all its officers are paid directly from the treasury. 
The inspector must be consulted before any change is made in 
any of the rules regarding either economy or instruction. He 
has a certain sum of money put at his disposal for contingent 
expenses. 

Under this inspector are four tutors, who live in the house, 
sleeping in the same dormitories with the boys. Two of these 
at a time, and in rotation, have the superintendence of the boys 
out of school, in their walks and play, one having charge of 
the boys who are attending the gymnasium, the other of those 
who are sent to the burgher school. They are also present 
during the study hours, when they are expected to assist the 
pupils in their lessons. To aid in maintaining order, and to 
help the pupils forward in their studies, there are two monitors 
placed at each study-table, who are selected from among the 
elder boys, and have charge of the younger ones. They re- 
port weekly to the tutors, and then, in a meeting at which the 
inspector presides, make report to him, and act as a council in 
advising in regard to measures of discipline. This arrange- 
ment, by which each study-table has its chief under the super- 
vision of a tutor, is common in the boarding gymnasia of Ger- 
many, and is productive of excellent results. It is said that, in 
old times, it had degenerated into a system of fagging, and, 
indeed, one of the rules of this orphan-house was obviously 
adopted in reference to such a case ; but the superintendence by 
the tutors, the careful selection of the monitors, and the im- 
proved state of general feeling in these schools, have entirely 
done away with the abuse. 

The rewards for conduct and scholarship consist of books, 
of permissions of absence, walks, &c.; the punishments are, the 
suppression of indulgences, excluding from table, admonition, 
confinement, corporal punishment, and dismission. Offences 
against morality are severely punished, and, unless a reform is 
produced, the offender is dismissed. Scrupulous modesty of 
deportment is every where enjoined and exacted, as a neces- 
sary safeguard from the approaches of vice. 

Though it is expected that the religious instruction provided 



FRANKE KOU\DATIONS AT HALLE. 101 

in the house and school, will produce and foster moral and re- 
ligious dispositions, great reliance is placed upon the moral 
training, by the good example of the tutors and of the elder 
boys. Experience proves that the orphan-house gives more 
satisfaction in regard to discipline, than either of the other es- 
tablishments, and that of the orphans who leave it, those who 
enter into trades, and similar occupations, less frequently fall 
away from rectitude than those who go to a higher career. 

The inmates of the orphan-house have the usual Christmas, 
Easter, and summer vacations, and those who have friends are 
allowed to go home at these times: for those who remain in the 
institution, a temporary order of the day is adopted. 

The health of the pupils is reasonably good, but their physi- 
cal development not remarkable. The number of sick is usually 
about two out of the one hundred and fourteen inmates of the 
boys' orphan-house. The boys have a play-ground and garden 
in which to exercise. Wednesdays and Saturdays are half- 
holidays. The physician in chief visits this as well as the other 
houses of the foundations daily, and may be called on when 
required. 

Voluntary manual labour in the field or garden, is the prin- 
cipal means of the physical education of the elder boys, and 
certainly contributes very materially to their health. The boys 
have no mechanical occupations, which, considering the future 
destination of most of them, may be regarded a defect, in as 
much as general manual dexterity is easily acquired at an early 
age, and almost as a play. 

The pupils clean their shoes, sweep their rooms, &c., for 
themselves, and make and attend to the fires in weekly turns. 
They thus early acquire habits of waiting upon themselves, wiiich 
will be advantageous whatever may be their success in after life. 

The outer clothing is renewed yearly, and they have on hand 
always two suits for winter wear, and three changes of linen. 
A frock-coat for the street, of dark cloth (iron-grey), and a 
jacket for study and play. The clothes are marked with a num- 
ber. The linen is changed but once a week. The washing in 
the morning is done in basins, and each bov carries his own 



102 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

to the lavatory. Two boys use the same towel, which is 
changed but once a week. All these arrangements are far infe- 
rior in character to those of the schools of England which I have 
described, and, with a few other details of police which I need 
not mention, struck me as particularly defective. 

For both departments, male and female, of the school, there 
are two superintendents of clothing and quarters, and five ser- 
vants, three male and two female. 

When a bill is presented, it is handed for examination and 
approval to the officer who has received the article, then to the 
accountant, who examines and certifies as to the calculation, 
and then to the director, who orders payment, and finally to the 
treasurer, who pays the amount. The cost of the institution in 
1837, was ten thousand nine hundred and fifty dollars, for one 
hundred and fourteen boys and sixteen girls, or eighty-four 
dollars for each pupil. Of the total sum contributed to all the 
foundations, the state gives about ten thousand five hundred 
dollars, which is nearly half the whole revenue. 

There is no matron in the establishment for boys, and indeed 
throughout Germany, there is a great tendency to place all po- 
lice and instruction in the hands of men. This probably arises- 
from the circumstances of the country, where competition 
for all situations which yield a support is very great, and from 
the respect in which teachers and those having the superinten- 
dence of youth are held, which induces a considerable number 
of men to prepare themselves specially for these offices. The 
exemption from military service, which these situations procure, 
is an additional cause no doubt of the abundance of candidates 
for them. The Prussian system of education has, indeed, ad- 
dressed itself too exclusively to the male sex, a defect, however, 
which measures have already been taken to remedy. 

The arrangement in regard to breakfast in this and in the 
other educational institutions of the Franke Foundations, is pe- 
culiar, and intended to habituate the boys to dispose properly 
of money. They receive each a certain sum weekly; just 
enough to buy the portion of bread and milk absolutely neces- 
sary for breakfast for each dav. and lay this out as they please. 



FRANKE FOUNDATIONS AT HALLE. 103 

A want of due regularity brings its own punishment, in the loss 
of the meal. Combinations of several might enable them, per- 
haps, to evade this regulation, but such are happily contrary to 
the spirit of the school. In a modified form, such a regulation 
would fall-in very well with the ideas which I have heretofore 
expressed as to the importance of gradually increasing the res- 
ponsibilities of a boy, to fit him for his entrance into life. 

There are two dormitories, in each of which two tutors sleep, 
the youngest boys go to bed under the charge of the older 
ones, and of a tutor, and the others follow. Each boy has a 
separate bed. 

The Refectory. This is under the charge of a steward, who 
provides the boys of the boarding-school and of the orphan-house. 
There are three diflerent qualities of diet, that of the orphans 
occupying the middle place, which are furnished by contract, 
at a certain rate for each pupil. The quality of the provision is 
insured by the attendance in the hall, in rotation, of the teach- 
ers, and the daily attendance of the economy-inspector of the 
foundations, and further, by sending at each meal a specimen 
of the dishes from the middle table, in a vessel with a locked 
cover, to the director, or his deputy. 

The pupils repair to meals under the charge of their tutors, 
a grace is said, and after dinner thanks returned. No loud 
talking is allowed. The knife, fork, and spoon of each is brought 
by him to the refectory and taken away again. 

The School The school which the boys of the orphan-house 
in general attend, is that called the "burgher" or citizens' school, 
sometimes also called middle school. Its objects are thus de- 
fiined — first, "so to train the sons of citizens by instruction in 
useful science, that, at the age of fourteen years, they may be 
in a condition to begin a handicraft, or other trade;" second, 
"to prepare the pupils for the lower classes of a gymnasium, 
or for the classes of a real school, to accomplish which latter 
purposes Latin and French are taught." 

The lower classes are in fact those of an elementary school, 
and the boys who leave the orphan-house at fourteen, are in- 
structed exclusively in this establishment. The few who are 



104 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

selected to remain after fourteen go to the Latin school; Latin 
and French both ire, however, studied in the upper classes 
of the burgher school, and the aptitude of the orphan pupils 
for language, is thus put to the test. The school is divided 
into four classes in reference to the progress of the pupils, and 
each is subdivided for convenience, with a teacher to every subdi- 
vision. Thus the same teacher gives instruction in all the subjects 
of study, to a class of boys numbering on the average about fifty. 

The branches taught are: 

Exercises of speech and thought. Bible history. 

Religious instruction. Mental and written arithmetic. 

Elements of geography. (Knowledge of home.) 

Reading and writing taught together. Reading. Calligraphy. 

Stories from history. 

German grammar. Composition. Geography of Germany. 
German history. 

French grammar. General history. Higher arithmetic. 

Elements of geometry. 

Bible lessons. Christian morals. Christian doctrines. Ele- 
ments of Latin. 

There are teachers of singing and drawing, besides the regu- 
lar class teachers. The pupils are examined privately once 
every six months, and publicly at Easter, when the change of 
classes takes place. 

The exercises of speech and thought, the first subject on 
the above list, constitute the breaking-in, as it were, of the 
child, and being at the very threshold of instruction, try the 
teacher's skill more than many a learned branch. He must 
teach the pupil to think, taking care that iiis thoughts are ex- 
pressed in appropriate words. Pestalozzi, who first practised 
upon this idea, drew the child's attention to the human frame, 
as the subject of contemplation; others have preferred to bring 
him in contact with nature, in general, by making simple natural 
phenomena the basis of the inductive lessons; others, not sur- 
rounded by nature, make man and his dwelling their theme; 
others introduce simple lessons on objects of nature and art, 
which can readily be presented to the child for his examination. 



FRANKE FOUNDATIONS AT HALLE. 105 

and on which as a basis to rear the superstructure of natural 
history, physics, and technology, in his advanced course. All 
these are good in their way, but such as I saw tried seemed to 
depend for their efficacy upon the circumstances of the school, 
and to be better or worse as the child found means to apply his 
newly acquired powers of perception, to observe for himself. 
Of all the plans, when the school is rightly situated for it, a refe- 
rence to nature produces the best training of the heart, as well 
as the mind of the child. It would be impossible to present, 
here, even extracts from the numerous works which contain 
the methods employed in these exercises. I trust, however, 
that the board will have an opportunity of witnessing similar 
ones in our own institution, and that they will consider the 
power to carry them out an important qualification for a 
teacher in the elementary department of the Girard College. 

The Bible history and religious instruction next referred to, are 
principally given orally, the morals of the Bible and the events 
which it describes, being put into such a form that when the 
sacred book itself, at a later day, comes into the child's hands, 
he is prepared to read it with proper interest. This plan is dia- 
metrically opposed to that which employs it as the beginner's 
horn-book, and from which, I feel bound to say, I have never 
seen any good result. 

I cannot enter into details in regard to all the branches, but 
must be satisfied with noticing two which are here taught par- 
ticularly well, namely, reading and writing, and geography. 

The reading and writing are taught at the same time, accord- 
ing to the method of Harnisch, developed by Scholtz. The 
child makes a letter on his slate, after a copy upon the black- 
board, and is taught to name it. The German language hav- 
ing a fixed sound for each letter, when the sound of the letter 
has been learned, not its common arbitrary name, but the 
sound which it has in composition, the pupil has made some 
progress towards knowing how to form combinations, which 
is the next step, the vowels being placed alternately before and 
after the consonant. These combinations are first written on 
the slate, and then pronounced. The next exercise consists in 
11 



100 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

placing a vowel between two consonants, which is followed 
by other simple combinations. These being classified by care- 
ful study, the child is soon able to compose simple sentences, 
in which his ideas are developed, so that the mechanical opera- 
tion of writing and of reading is interspersed with intellectual 
exercise. In this the talent of the teacher is strikingly exhibited, 
and a prescribed routine of instruction would fail in its object. 
The written letters being once learned, the next step is with 
the printed, and a reading book is not introduced until the child 
has felt the necessity of it in his further progress. It is then a 
relief, and not a task. 

I saw, here, a class which had been under instruction for 
only nine months, the pupils of which wrote short sentences 
very legibly in a hand of medium size, spelled them correctly, 
and read them distinctly. 

This method of learning to read is, in a great degree, inap- 
plicable to our language, in which the vowel sounds are so 
numerous ; but the union of reading and writing may have its 
advantages. The characters of the ordinary German writing 
are composed of very different forms from those of our round 
hand, and which are more simple, and, in general, angular; 
hence no considerable dexterity of hand is required to trace 
the letters, and only a brief practice in elementary forms is re- 
quired. I saw classes of children of ten and eleven years old, at 
Zurich, who, by being constantly practised in this method from 
their earliest instruction, had acquired a very striking facility 
of expressing their ideas clearly and correctly in writing. The 
method produces a facility of composition, in writing, as that of 
Jacotot does a fluency in speaking. The oqjhans entering at 
ten years of age, do not, in general, pass through this class. 

The geographical instruction, founded upon the method of 
Pestalozzi, proceeds on strictly inductive principles, and is an 
example of how much may be done by making the pupil pro- 
ceed from the known to the unknown. TJie following was the 
course of a recitation which I attended on the subject. The 
teacher drew, first, from the knowledge of the pupils of different 
objects or bodies, a definition of the term body, then led them 



FRANKE FOUPfDATIONS AT HALLE. 107 

to define extension, dimensions, &c., and thus furnished them 
ideas of space. Sunrise and sunset were used for estabhshing 
the position of the cardinal points, and that of the class-room 
was determined in reference to these. Then commencing with 
home, with a map of the city of Halle, they gave an account 
of its localities, and the history connected with them. Widen- 
ing hence in circles, the natural and political features of the sur- 
rounding district were described, always indicating the real 
directions of places, &c. The pupil thus grasps every step of 
geographical knowledge ; begins with his own house, rambles 
through his own town, makes excursions in its neighbourhood, 
sets out on his travels through his fatherland, visits foreign 
parts, sees what is worth seeing in the natural and artificial 
state of the country, finally learns the relation of its parts and 
of the whole to other worlds, and thus the interest is kept up 
from the first to the last The reverse method I compared 
with this over and over again; some teachers have found this 
tedious, others have mixed the two systems, but, judging by 
the comparative results, I give this method greatly the prefer- 
ence over others, as not only teaching geography, and connect- 
ing history with it, but enlarging the general intelligence, while it 
improves the memory. In the upper classes, the pupils use maps 
without names, and draw maps on the board, marking localities, 
&c. At other times, the places are indicated by one pupil, and 
named by another, with other variations of exercise. In the 
lower classes, the responses were frequently repeated by the 
whole class, and in the upper classes the instruction was more 
addressed to individuals. With all the inherent merits of this 
method, I have seen it wholly marred by a dull teacher. 

The inductive method applied to any branch of knovi^ledge 
requires time, patience, and some skill on the part of the teacher. 
The routine method, or positive teaching, is much easier to the 
instructor. The former at every step unfolds the mind, the latter 
frequently overburthens it. If the positive knowledge acquired by 
the first is entirely lost, the habit of thinking remains, while, if ac- 
quired by the second there is nothing left unless some improvement 
of memory, and general development of the reasoning powers. 



108 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

A pupil who has properly improved the advantages of this 
school, will have acquired a reasonable knowledge of the Ger- 
man language, of reading, writing, and arithmetic, of geogra- 
phy and general histor}^ will be familiar wnth the history, 
morals, and doctrines of the Bible, and his general mental and 
moral development will be such as befits his age. If espe- 
cially industrious or apt, he will have had an opportunity of 
beginning Latin and French, and if he prove to have a facility 
in language, will be transferred to the Latin school. It would 
seem that, if he have a peculiar disposition for mathematical 
studies, he should be sent to the real school* to prepare him 
for one of the higher mechanical callings; but no arrangement 
of this kind yet exists. There are, indeed, some obstacles to it, 
as for example the difficulty he will find of a support before he 
receives employment in one of these higher callings, the neces- 
sity for patronage, capital, &c. None, however, I believe are 
insurmountable. If he should have had this advantage, on reach- 
ing seventeen years of age he would have added to his stock 
of knowledge — 

Further acquaintance with German and French. Latin and 
English if required, though not regularly taught. 

History and geography. 

Natural history. Mathematics. 

Practical arithmetic. Physics and chemistry. 

Religion.f 

Improved writing, and drawing. 

The Latin school, into which the more intelligent pupil now 
actually enters, conforms to the general plan of the Prussian 
gymnasia or grammar schools, which will be more fully des- 



* This school is designed to complete the education of those intended for 
"shopkeepers, higher trades, economists, military men, architects, or foresters, 
and especially for those callings for which a learned course is not necessary." 
This real school has only been added to the other institutions since 1835. It has 
five classes. 

t The eight branches just named, beginning with history and ending with 
religion, are classed in the programme as "sciences." The school-money for the 
year is twelve thalers, equal to about nine dollars ! 



FRANKE FOUNDATIONS AT HALLE. 109 

cribed hereafter. This gymnasium has six classes, divided 
each into two parts, and forming a connected series of instruc- 
tion, one part being six months behind the other, except that 
the pupils of the two parts are sometimes assembled to listen 
to the same lecture. 

The branches studied are: Religious instruction, Latin, 
Greek, French, mathematics, elements of physics, history, psy- 
cology, and logic. Poetry and rhetoric, and Hebrew or Eng- 
lish, as the student may desire. 

The degrees to which they are carried, the preparation being 
for the university, may be known from the studies of the first 
division of the highest or first class. 

1. Religion. Christian morals from Niemeyer's Manual, for 
the upper classes of the higher schools. Explanation (by lec- 
ture) of the references to the New Testament in Greek, &c. 
2. Latin. (By lecture.) Introduction to the development of rhe- 
toric among the Greeks. Cic. de. Orat. Extempore exercises 
from translations of prose and poetry, &c. Lecture on Horace's 
Epistles, two books. Satires, one book. History of poetry 
among the Romans. Life of Horace. Review of odes. 3. Greek. 
(Lectures.) Life of Demosthenes, and selected orations. Philip- 
pics, for peace, &c. Written exercises from Euripides. Sopho- 
cles. (Antigone, CEdip. Colon.) Introduction (by lecture) to the 
rise of the Greek tragedy, the arrangements of the stage, &c. 
Extempore reading of selections from the Iliad. (All these lec- 
tures in Latin.) 4. Hebrew. Joshua. Psalms, 69 to 72. Jonas. Joel, 
1st and 2d, wath analysis. Written exercises. Lectures on Psalms 
1 to 18, analytically. Hebrew syntax. Selections from transla- 
tions of the New Testament into Hebrew. 5. German. Poetry 
and rhetoric, by examples. Prose and poetical exercises. 
Directions for private reading. 6. French. Voltaire's Brutus and 
Zaire. Exercises in style. 7. English, (a choice of this language 
or Hebrew) Vicar of Wakefield. 8. Mathematics. Progressions. 
Combinations. Logarithms. Binomial theorem. Plane trigo- 
nometry. Elements of physics. 9. History of the middle ages, 
from Schmidt's Iconography of the history of the middle ages, 
and later times. 10. Pstjcology and logic. 



110 



ELEEMOSVyARY INSTITUTIONS. 



The lectures alluded to, throughout, are rather informal ex- 
planations, generally extempore, by the professors, and of which 
the students usually take notes. They are, in the case of the 
classics, mostly analytical, critical, and historical. The elements 
of physics are such a general view of the subject as can be had 
by the aid of a few simple mathematical pi'inciples. The psy- 
cology is that of observation (empirical so called) now so po- 
pular in the German and French schools. It must be evident 
that if the pupil arrive at a proficiency in such courses, he can- 
not be said to have commenced the study of the learned lan- 
guages too late in life, and yet his first lesson of Latin grammar 
has been begun at nearly thirteen years of age. 

The following is the order of the day, by which these various 
arrangements are carried out, divided into two columns, one 
showing the occupations of the older, the other those of the 
younger boys. 



The Elder Boys. 

Rise at half past four in 
summer, half past five in win- 
ter, wash and go to study un- 
til seven o'clock. 

Breakfast at seven, and have 
recreation until eight. 

Are in school from eight to 
eleven. 

Have an hour of drawing, 
or mutual instruction, on two 
days in the week. 

Dine at twelve. 

Are at liberty to occupy 
themselves on the farm or in 
the garden until two, P. M., 
or are free until one, and have 
a drawing lesson of an hour, 
according to the season. On 
Saturday change their linen. 



The Younger Boys. 

Rise at five in summer, and 
quarter past five in winter. 
Brush their shoes and wash. 

Breakfast at seven, and 
study until eight. 

Are in school from eight to 
eleven. 

Study until twelve, except 
those intended for the classi- 
cal school, who take a Latia 
lesson. 

Dine at twelve. 

Brush their clothes, and, on 
Saturday, change their linen. 
In general, are free four days, 
and take a drawing lesson two 
days, from one to two. A few 
learn French two days in the 
week. 



FRANKE FOUNDATIONS AT HALLE. 



Ill 



Are in school four days and 
at study two days in the week, 
until four, P. M. 

Receive, at four, a piece of 
bread, and may engage in 
work in the garden or farm un- 
til five, and on Wednesdays and 
Saturdays, in winter, study. 

Study from five to seven 
two days, from five to six 
two other days, and occupy 
the remaining time with a 
singing lesson. Walk on two 
other days in summer. 

In winter study, except twice 
a week a singing lesson of an 
hour. 

Supper at seven. 

Are allowed to work in the 
field from seven to nine in 
summer, and play in the house 
from seven to eight, and are 
occupied in mutual instruction 
from eight to nine in winter. 

Study from nine to ten. 



As all the particulars of this distribution of time have been 
carefully studied by the directors of this institution, and in the 
true spirit, it merits especial attention. In passing it briefly 
in review^ I W'ould call attention, first, to the portions of the 
day devoted to occupation, recreation, and domestic duties. 
These are, in summer, about seventeen and a-half hours, and 
in winter sixteen and a-half for the upper classes, leaving but 
six and a-half in the former, and seven and a-half in the lat- 
ter to sleep. I confess that both allotments seem to me 
entirely too small for boys about twelve years of age; and, in- 
deed, such as would scarcely be adapted to the average of full 



Are in school four days in 
the week, or walking with the 
tutors two days until four, 
P. M. 

Receive a luncheon of bread 
at four, and play in the yard ; 
on Saturday walk until five. 

Study two days, and receive 
singing lessons four days in 
the week from five to seven. 

Supper at seven. 

Play in summer out of doors, 
in winter, in-doors, until eight. 
Voluntary occupation and 
prayers. 

The fourth class goes to bed 
at nine. 

The third class studies until 
ten. 



112 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

grown men. The allowance is so small, compared with that 
of every other institution, that, had I not derived the information 
from the director himselt^, I should conclude there was some 
mistake in the matter. The younger boys have an additional 
time for sleep, the youngest having an hour and a-half, nearly, 
more than the eldest, and the other three classes about half an 
hour more. The general arrangement is highly judicious, but 
it seems to me doubtful whether so great a difference is neces- 
sary between boys often and fourteen. For the purpose of com- 
parison of this and the other heads of my remarks with other 
schools, I have placed in the Appendix, No. VIII., a table con- 
taining an abstract of the orders of the day of some of the prin- 
cipal schools which are described in this Report. 

Next, in regard to the distribution of the day into time for 
study, for regular school duties, for the extra school duties, for 
play, and for domestic concerns, the amount of time devoted 
to each for the elder boys stands thus, on the general average. 
For study and school in winter nearly eleven hours, in summer 
nearly ten and a-half; for play and domestic occupations, in 
winter, about five and a-half hours, and in summer, about 
seven hours, the amout of hours employed in study and school 
exercises being nearly equal in winter, and about in the pro- 
portion of four to five in summer. With the German plan, in 
which so much of the instruction is communicated orally, and 
at this age of the pupils, these proportions are, probably, quite 
just and consistent with a high intellectual development. That 
the development should be of the higher order, will appear by 
comparing the number of hours occupied in intellectual exer- 
cises in this school, with the allotment in the others, as shown 
in the table already referred to. 

In relation to the succession of work and play, there are 
the following arrangements. In summer, in the evening, there 
are three hours of study, and in winter four; in the former case, 
two hours of recreation out of doors, and in the latter, one 
within doors. There is, further, time for preparation for the 
day's lessons, in the morning, of which an hour is set apart for this 
purpose. Two hours are passed, also, before school, in domes- 



FRANKE FOUNDATIONS AT HALLE. 113 

tic duties, some of wiiich give bodily exercise. The school 
then continues for three hours, in summer, with an extra hour 
dev^oted to drawing or mutual instruction, and four hours in 
winter. There are two hours of recreation, then two hours 
of school, and again an hour of recreation, before the evening 
study. This succession is, it must be admitted, very judicious. 
An improvement, however, suggests itself, that there should be 
brief intervals of out of door relaxation between the school 
hours. It is true that this would be difficult, though not impos- 
sible, at Halle, where several schools open upon the same court. 
On Wednesday and Saturday there is no school in the after- 
noon, and the pupils walk out under the charge of their tutors. 

In regard to the younger boys, the arrangement, except in 
the time of rising, is not materially ditierent, until after the 
morning school at eleven, when, only a selected number of 
them, have one hour of instruction until twelve. From twelve 
until two, on two days of the week, some of the boys learn 
French, and all of them drawing, and on tw^o other days they 
are free. This may be considered as an additional school hour 
to those of the elder boys, but it is to be remarked that the in- 
struction is communicated, in great part, orally to the younger 
boys, and hence they require fewer hours of preparation and 
more of recitation. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, they walk 
from two to four, instead of studying as the elder boys do in 
the half-holiday, and study from five to seven, while the others 
are out. They have four hours more of lessons in vocal music 
than the elder boys. For all but the lowest class there is an 
hour of study, from nine to ten. The attention which has been 
paid to the minutiae of these arrangements, shows itself every 
where. The director has the power to carry into execution as 
soon as he is satisfied of the propriety of a measure, and changes 
and modifications may be made immediately, whenever circum- 
stances indicate their necessity. 

The Sunday order of the day is the following: From rising 

until seven o'clock household duties, from seven to eight study, 

from eight to nine voluntary occupation, from nine to ten 

prayers in the common hall, from ten to twelve voluntary oc- 

15 



Hi ELEEMOSVNARY INSTITUTIONS, 

CLipation, from twelve to two liberty to go into the garden, 
from two to four study, from four to seven voluntary occupa- 
tions, and visits in the town, from seven to nine in the garden. 
It would seem that there is a very scanty supply of religious 
instruction, but the school plan shows that this forms a part of 
the every day duty of the school, and that thus it is mingled 
with all the other exercises. The Sunday occupations, how^ever 
inappropriate they would be deemed in an institution of Great 
Britain or the United States, conform to the tone of religious 
sentiment of the country, and hence I do not consider them a 
proper subject for comment or objection, in connexion with a 
single institution. The whole subject must excite much re- 
flection. 



MILITARY ORPHAN-HOUSES AT POTSDAM AND ANNABURG. 

These are both establishments for soldiers' children, and in- 
tended to train them for the service as non-commissioned offi- 
cers. I present the first to the notice of the board on account 
of its well arranged system of physical education, discipline, and 
police, from which, though its object is different from ours, 
some useful hints may be drawn, especially in regard to the 
strict conformity of means to ends. I am induced to lay be- 
fore the board the plan of instruction pursued in the second, 
because, the school has recently been re-organized under the 
direction of one of the most able and experienced teachers of 
Prussia; from a visit to whose school for teachers, and the es- 
tablishments connected with it, I derived mucli instruction, and 
from whose experience and judgment this sketch of the organi- 
zation of an elementary and middle school results.* I did not 
visit the school, which was out of my general route, because, 
having been but recently re-organized on that plan, there was 
no new experience to be gathered in regard to its working. 



* I am indebted, for a manuscript copy of tlie excellent regulations of this 
(school, to the kindness of its author, Dr. Harnisch, director of the seminary for 
teachers at Weissenfels, in Prussia. 



MILITARY ORPHAIV-HOUSE AT POTSDAM. 115 

MILITARY ORPHAN-HOUSE AT POTSDAM. 

Historij, Bidldhgs, and General Government. This institution 
was founded in 1724, by Frederick William the First of Prussia. 
The reputation of Franke's Foundations induced this monarch 
to rival the benevolence of the clergyman, and to establish on 
a scale proportioned to his greater means, a house for the edu- 
cation of the orphans of his soldiers. While, however, the re- 
cipients of Franke's bounty are free to choose their career in 
after life, and only so far bound to the institution, as a sense of 
gratitude may prompt, the youth who passes through the Mili- 
tary Orphan-house of Potsdam, must enter the military service 
for twelve years. Three of these, indeed, are the term of service 
of every citizen, and I believe the three years in the non-com- 
missioned officers' school are now counted as part of the 
twelve, and thus the actual number of extra years of service is 
reduced to six. The institution began with one hundred and 
seventy-nine children, both girls and boys being received; this 
arrangement continued until a few years since, when the girls' 
school was removed from Potsdam, and the establishment at pre- 
sent is for male pupils only. There are between three and four 
hundred in the elementary or boys' department. In the early 
history of the orphan-house two attempts are recorded to in- 
troduce manual labour, as a profitable speculation; neither of 
which appears, however, to have succeeded. The first of these, 
the manufacture of Brabant lace, was introduced in 1743, and 
after various modifications of the mode of applying the labour 
of the children, it was finally abandoned in 1795. In 1744, the 
culture of silk was introduced extensively throughout the king- 
dom, and especially enjoined at the orphan-houses ; but this at- 
tempt was not more successful in the end than the other, and 
the culture is not kept up in this institution. 

The present spacious buildings were chiefly constructed un- 
der the reign of the founder and of Frederick the Great. Ad- 
ditions have, however, been made from time to time since, and 
the whole plan is hardly yet completed. The institution may 
be considered as divided into three departments or schools: an 



116 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

elementary school,* a trade school, and a music school. The 
buildings for the elementary school are erected about a spacious 
court, which serves as an exercising and play-ground. On the 
ground floor are the refectory, in which all the youth from the 
dilTerent schools composing the institution, meet three times a 
day, and the study and play-rooms, lavatory, &c. The study- 
rooms form a long range, and when the doors of communica- 
tion are opened, one teacher can superintend the whole of the 
classes. The arrangement of the lavatory is defective, the boys 
washing together in a large stone trough. The school-rooms 
are on the first and second floors, and are calculated for divi- 
sions of forty boys each. There are six dormitories, furnished, 
with wooden or iron bedsteads, the latter having been more 
recently introduced, and found to answer well. The bedding 
consists of a straw bed beneath and a mattress of hair above. 
Each dormitory is superintended by a teacher, who sleeps at 
one end of it. There are also dwelling rooms for the teachers, 
ofiicers, &c., and in the court a very large wash-house, with a 
drying-room above it. 

The buildings occupied by the trade and music schools are 
separated by a street from the others, and with the dwellings of 
the officers, a room for gymnastic exercises, and musical prac- 
tice, and the workshops, form a second immense series of struc- 
tures. The infirmary is near to them, and is under a separate 
direction; subordinate, however, to the general executive body. 
It is divided into rooms assigned to patients suffering from dif- 
ferent complaints. A schoolmaster gives instruction to the con- 
valescent. The arrangements in the dormitories of the trades' 
school, are similar to those used in the army, and the superin- 
tendence and discipline are strictly military. 

The part of the building occupied by the music-school, con- 
tains separate rooms for practising by individuals, class-rooms, 
and dormitories. There are rooms in the main pile for the 
meetings of teachers, for a small library, &c. 



* The literal translation of the title of this school is the boys' house, (das Kna- 
benhaus.) 



MILITARY ORPHAN-HOUSE AT POTSDAM. 117 

The executive board of this school depends partly on the 
ministry of war, and partly on that of public instruction; the 
former, however, is the controlling authority. Under this 
board is the military superintendent, or director, to whom the 
chaplain, the secretaries, the economist, the military superin- 
tendent of the day, the teachers, commandants of companies, 
the inspectors of the trades' and music school, and other 
officers, are directly responsible. The clergyman is the super- 
intendent of the elementary school, and has a general charge 
of all the intellectual and religious instruction. 

Admission. The orphan children of soldiers are received for 
maintenance, at any age, by the authorities of the establishment, 
but if under six years, are boarded with their friends or others 
until six, and then admitted into the house at Potsdam; they 
remain there until fourteen or fifteen years of age, and, if of 
sound constitution, are transferred to the trade, or to the music 
school, where they remain four years, and whence they pass, 
if their conduct has been good, to the school for non-commis- 
sioned officers. I have never seen a body of young men all so 
well physically developed as the pupils of the trade school, a 
result produced by constant attention to their education on this 
point. Children who are not healthy, or who have failed in the 
elementary school, are apprenticed at fourteen, and the institu- 
tion ceases to have the charge of them. 

Education. In the Elementary School, the usual branches 
taught in the common schools of Prussia are pursued, including 
reading, writing, arithmetic, the German language, geography, 
drawing, religious instruction, and a litde natural history. The 
boys are divided into four classes, according to their profi- 
ciency, and all the classes below the first are subdivided into 
two sections, each being under the charge of a teacher, and 
having a separate recitation room. These sections contain 
about forty pupils each. A monitor of order from among the 
pupils, has charge of a section on entering and leaving the 
school-room, and renders such service as the master requires 
during the lesson; he is assisted by one of the class in the dis- 
tribution of the books, slates, and other implements of instruc- 



118 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

tion. The teachers keep each a roll, upon which the charac- 
ter of the recitation and conduct of the pupils is entered, and 
which is examined weekly by the chaplain, and submitted to 
the board of teachers at their meetings. No youth, who is be- 
low a certain grade upon this roll, is permitted to enter the 
trades' school. There are about five hours of instruction on 
four days of the week, and about twenty-three in the whole 
week. The holidays are, a week at Easter, four days at 
Michaelmas, a fortnight in the latter half of July, and from the 
twenty-third of December to the second of January. For 
those who have no friends to go to, the Christmas festivities 
are kept up in the school, as in the private families of the 
country. 

The board of teachers meet once every fortnight, and the 
director, or his substitute, or the chaplain, presides. At their 
meetings, all matters relating to instruction and discipline are 
discussed. 

The form of the discipline of the school is military, but a 
spirit of mildness tempers it, suiting it to the age of the pupils. 
The boys, in general, are divided into four companies, each of 
which has a commandant,* who has charge of the instruction 
in military exercises, and ranks with the teachers of the school. 
These companies form a battalion, and are drilled without arms, 
and inspected by the director, or an oflicer appointed by him. 
In turn the commandants of companies, acting as officers of 
the day, have general charge of the military and police duties. 
Two of the teachers, also, in turn, act as inspectors of the 
day, and have the general superintendence of the pupils in study 
and recreation hours, in the duties of personal police, at meals, 
and in the dormitories, relieving each other at different parts of 
the day. They are co-ordinate in authority with the officer 
of the day, and he is expected to relieve and aid them in the 
maintenance of order. These officers report immediately to 
the director. 

The four companies are subdivided into sections of eleven, 

* A non-commissioned officer of the highest grade. 



MILITARY ORPHAN-HOUSE AT POTSDAM, IVJ 

over each of which one of the boys is placed, with the title of 
overseer, or corporal, and he is responsible for the good order of 
his section, and may be assisted in his duties by one chosen from 
it. From among these corporals one is selected for the general 
control and superintendence of the others, and marches the 
company to the lavatory, to meals, to the dormitory, &c., being 
responsible for them whenever they are collected as a com- 
pany. The boys composing a section are placed at meals upon 
the same side of the table with the corporal who has charge of 
them. The younger pupils do not join these companies at 
once, but are kept together in a division which is under female 
superintendence, has a separate overseer, and is under differ- 
ent regulations as to rising, going to bed, and other particulars 
of discipline and police from the elder pupils. 

All the duties of domestic and personal police, and some of 
those of domestic economy, are performed by the boys enrolled 
in the four companies. They clean their own shoes, brush their 
own clothes, attend to the police of the different parts of the 
building, serve the meals, and make their beds. That the vari- 
ous duties may be attended to in an orderly way, there are, be- 
sides those already spoken of, special overseers appointed among 
the pupils, who have general charge of them while engaged 
in certain duties, and of particular localities. Thus there is an 
overseer of the room where the clothes and shoes are kept, 
who has charge of the exchange of the Sunday for week-day 
dress, and vice versa; an overseer of the room where the shoes 
are brushed and blacked; an overseer of the lavatory; four 
superintendents of cleanliness, who direct the pupils while wash- 
ing and combing their hair; one of hair cutting; two of serving 
the table, who have charge of a detail of thirty pupils, who 
serve and clear the tables and clean the knives and forks; one, 
of the manual labour classes; one, of the sick in the hospital; 
one, of those who are unwell, and must report to the physician; 
one, of the lights; one, to prevent the passing of bounds; one of 
the pupils who sing the liturgy in the church; one to conduct 
the pupils, whose shoes require repairs, to the shoemaker; be- 
sides, those for the classes and the younger boys, already men- 



liJO ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

tioned, and a few others. I make this enumeration in order to 
show the minuteness of the arrangements for police and disci- 
pline, and the extent to which they are conducted by the pupils 
themselves. The selections for appointments are made by the 
teachers and officers, and submitted to the chaplain and direc- 
tor for their approbation. A part of the pupils employed as 
superintendents receive small pecuniary allowances, and all 
enjoy many privileges. 

Some of the pupils, who are found to have a taste for music, 
receive special lessons, and are employed, when sufficiently pro- 
ficient, to give the signals for the different duties of the day. 
Eight pupils are thus selected to be taught the bugle and fife, 
and twelve the drum. 

In regard to conduct, the pupils are divided into four grades, 
according to the reports of the teachers and officers, a revision 
of the classification taking place every quarter, and the director 
having, in the mean time, the power to displace a pupil in a 
case of emergency. The first class grade is composed of pu- 
pils distinguished for unvarying good conduct, and on holidays 
its members are allowed to leave the orphan-house alone to 
make small purchases at discretion, and are neither subject to 
corporal punishment nor to the stoppage of their meals. The 
second class is composed also of meritorious pupils, but of a 
lower grade of conduct than the first; they are permitted to 
leave the school sometimes, but riot so often as the others, and 
are generally under supervision. From these two grades only, 
the superintendents or overseers are taken. Pupils of the third 
grade stand between those who are decidedly good or bad, and 
are treated accordingly. They are the last who are permitted 
to pass from the elementary to the trades' school, on completing 
their course in the former. Those of the fourth, or lowest grade, 
are kept constantly under supervision, have no allowances, no 
leaves of absence, are separated, when possible, from the rest 
of the pupils, and are even punished by an inferior diet. There 
were very few pupils in this grade when I visited the institu- 
tion, in 1837-8, which was justly considered as an indication 
of its good condition. 



MILITARY ORPHAN-HOUSE AT POTSDAM. 121 

The health of the pupils is promoted by frequent bodily ex- 
ercise, and, when the weather permits, in the open air. Thus 
they have regular gymnastic exercises four times a week, are 
drilled by companies four times, and by battalion twice a week, 
take frequent walks, and, in summer, bathe every day. The 
regular manual labour in this department of the school is con- 
fined to knitting and tailoring. The gymnastic exercises are 
conducted by two teachers, each taking charge of one of the 
companies, of which two attend the lesson at the same time, 
and assisted by pupils selected from among the most proficient 
in the exercises. There are two swimming lessons given to 
each company, in summer, every week. In the ordinary divi- 
sion of the day, in summer, between two and three hours are 
allowed for manual labour, the same for recreation, two hours 
for exercise, and nearly eight for sleep. 

Their clothing is a neat uniform jacket of blue cloth, of a 
military fashion, gray or white pantaloons for the winter, and 
a brown linen jacket and w^hite linen pantaloons for the sum- 
mer, and their officers are distinguished by badges similar to 
those worn in service. The diet is rather generous, (see the 
table. Appendix, No. VII.,) and, besides the three regular meals, 
bread is served to them as a luncheon in the morning and after- 
noon intervals. The mortality was, in 1831, but one in two 
hundred and twenty-three in the whole institution. 

An opportunity is given to those who are to pass into the 
trades' school, to ascertain the trade which they may wish to 
follow, by a trial during the last year of the elementary course. 

The order of the day, with merely slight variations during 
four days of the week, in summer, is as follows : The pupils 
rise at a quarter before five o'clock, and proceed by companies 
to the lavatory, two companies occupying it at once and alter- 
nating, the other two being, meanwhile, engaged in cleaning 
their shoes. Wash and comb their hair. At half past five the 
boys detailed to serve the meals proceed to the refectory under 
their two superintendents. At a quarter before six the bugle 
sounds, and the companies assemble, by sections, in the court- 
yard. Morning prayers and breakfast. Those who are slightly 
16 



122 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS, 

sick report to the physician. At a quarter before seven, the 
boys assemble according to classes, and at seven are marched 
to the school-rooms. At a quarter before nine a luncheon of 
bread is served out to them. School closes at eleven, and the 
pupils are free for three quarters of an hour. Dinner at about 
a quarter before twelve. The pupils brush their clothes, and are 
inspected by the officer of the day. From a quarter past one 
to half past two, review the morning lessons in school. From 
a quarter to three until five, are occupied with manual labour 
in the work-rooms. Part of the pupils receive instruction in 
music, and the first and second classes in drawing; a stated 
number take a swimming lesson; the drummers, fifers, and 
buglers also have a lesson. A luncheon of bread is distributed. 
One of the companies is at drill, one at gymnastics, and the 
other pupils bathing or walking until seven. Evening prayers 
in the refectory, and supper. Wash, and have recreation until 
nine, when they retire. The younger pupils retire at half past 
eight. 

In winter, the diflcrent occupations of the day are each 
one hour later than in summer, until half past two, when the 
hour of review of the lessons is omitted, and the exercises, as 
far as appropriate to the season, follow in the same order as 
in summer, until half past five, at which hour the pupils go to 
the school-room, and remain until a quarter before seven. 

On Wednesday and Saturday, an hour in the morning is de- 
voted to religious instruction, the other lessons being omitted, 
except tiie physical exercises on Wednesday. Stated days and 
periods of the day are assigned for the exchange of the week-day 
clothes for those of Sunday, for taking clothes or shoes requir- 
ing repairs to the tailor or shoemaker of the establishment, for 
hair-cutting and combing, for washing the neck and shoulders, 
the feet, and for other minute matters not necessary to be here 
presented, since a sufficiently correct idea of the order and 
exactness of the arrangements may be formed from the speci- 
men of the order of the day already given. 

Trade ScJtooI. The object of this school is, in part, to econo- 
mise the funds of the institution, by making within its walls 



MILITARY ORPHAN-HOUSE AT POTSDAM. 123 

articles of clothing required for the pupils, but more to secure 
the acquisition, not only of general mechanical dexterity, but 
of a trade, which may serve to increase their emoluments when 
they gnter the military service. There are, at present, one hun- 
dred and four pupils in the class. 

In order to pass into the trades' school from the elementary 
division, the pupil must have reached at least the second class, 
have been above the fourth grade in conduct, be between four- 
teen and fifteen years of age, and of a bodily constitution fitting 
him for the military service. The course lasts three years. 
The school has a special inspector, or superintendent, who is 
responsible to the director of the whole institution, or, in fact, 
to his substitute, who has special charge of this and of the mu- 
sic school. 

The different trades now taught here are those of blacksmiths, 
saddlers, tailors,* shoemakers, and lithographers. The last 
named has but seven pupils admissible to its school, and the next 
to the last forty-four. These numbers depend upon the demand 
for the occupation subsequent to leaving the establishment, the 
space required for the operations of the trade, the difficulty of 
teaching, &c. As each pupil is in general permitted, on ad- 
vising with the inspector, to choose his employment, it some- 
times happens that boys are sent into the town to learn a trade 
not taught in the school. Changes of occupation are very rare, 
but are sometimes permitted. The blacksmiths are principally 
engaged in the repairs of arms, the saddlers make the caps and 
accoutrements, &c. used in the house, the tailors all the uniforms, 
the shoemakers supply not only this orphan-house, but that of 
the girls with shoes, and the lithographers are occupied in copy- 
ing forms for the school or war department, manuals, &c. 
They work about seven hours a day, under the superintendence 
of master workmen from the town. 

An hour of each day is spent in gymnastic or military exer- 
cises in the open air in summer, and in winter in the large room 



* At this trade the pupils were seated upon a form, or bench, around a circu- 
lar table, and not, as with us, in a constrained position upon a table. 



124 ELEEMOSYNARY IMSTITUTION'S. 

before spoken of. The military exercises, besides the ordinary 
ones, comprise some which are peculiar to the Prussian service. 
The usual exercises of gymnastics are introduced, omitting any 
which seem to have a tendency towards the tricks of the 
mountebank. A manual, compiled from Jahn and Eiselin,* is 
the guide of the teachers. For instruction in these exercises, 
the whole school is divided into two parts, and each again into 
squads, so that the teacher need have but twelve to fourteen 
under his charge. Non-commissioned officers are the under 
teachers, and in turn are superintended by higher teachers, and 
by an inspector. 

There can be no doubt that to these well regulated and per- 
severingly continued exercises it is, in great part, due that the 
physical development of these youths is, on the average, so per- 
fect. Judicious recreation, a proper diet and clothing, great 
cleanliness, a proper number of hours of work, of instruction 
and sleep, no doubt, are necessary, each and all in their degree, 
but great influence must be besides allowed to the gymnastic 
exercises. 

The pupils have two hours of instruction during the day, in- 
tended to keep up their knowledge of the branches taught in 
the elementary school, rather than to teach new ones. Military 
drawing is, however, added to their former acquisitions. 

When not in the shops, nor in school, nor at exercise, they 
are superintended by non-commissioned officers. The disci- 
pline in this school is military in spirit, as well as in details, and 
altogether adapted as a preparation to the life which they are 
to lead after leaving it. 

Music School Those pupils who have manifested a decided 
musical talent in the lower school, are here instructed thoroughly 
in the theory and practice of music. The object is to supply 
musicians to the regimental bands. These pupils have a separate 
superintendence from those of the other schools, and different 



* Mr. Kiel, the superintendent of tliis department, has not only adopted the 
new exercises of Eisclln, of Berlin, but has made some very judicious improve- 
ments upon them. 



MILITARY ORPHAIV-HOUSE AT ANNABURG. 125 

hours of exercise and duty. They keep up the knowledge ac- 
quired in the elementary school, as is done in the trades' school. 
There are about forty pupils in the classes. 

MILITARY ORPHAN-HOUSE AT ANNABURG. 

The course of instruction is divided into two parts, one an 
elementary course, consisting of religious instruction, arithmetic, 
the mother tongue, singing, writing, and exercises of induction, 
taught in four classes, between the ages of ten and fourteen. 
The other, a higher course, taught in three classes, and between 
the fifteenth and eighteenth years of age of the pupils. In or- 
der to rise to the place of a non-commissioned officer, the pupil 
must have gone through at least the lowest of the classes of the 
higher school. The subjects of instruction in this school are : 
religious instruction, arithmetic, singing, the German language, 
calligraphy, geography and history, algebra, geometry, trigo- 
nometry, and drawing. 

The courses in the different branches are arranged as fol- 
lows: 



First. Religious Instruction. 

LOWER SCHOOL. 

VII Class. Bible stories, psalms and hymns, appropriate to the season. Four 
hours per week. 

VI Class. Histories from the Old and New Testament, portions of the history 
of the Christian church, catechism. Four hours per week. 

V Class. Reading and explanation of the Bible, and of its arrangement. The 
gospel and historical works are selected, and the history is connected with the 
geography of the Holy Land. Catechism. Five hours. 

IV Class. Doctrines of the Lutheran church, taught by Luther's Catechism. 
Five hours. 

UPPER SCHOOL. 

Ill Class. Moral instruction, duties to God and man. Three hours. 

II Class. Reading the Bible with comments, the pupils making abstracts. 
Three hours. 

I Class. (Two years.) The first year a repetition of Luther's Catechism. 
The second, a history of the Christian dispensation. Three hours. 

Every class commits verses from the Bible to memory. 

Secon'd. Arithmetic. Mental and written arithmetic nrc taught together, that 



126 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

the readiness afforded by the one, and the accuracy of tlie other, may both be 
cultivated. 

LOWER SCHOOL. 

VII Class. The four ground-rules, witli three places of fio^ures mentally. Ap- 
plication to questions in weights and measures. Three hours. 

VI Class. The same rules extended. Three hours. 

V Class. Fractions, with applications to weights and measures. Three hours. 
IV Class. Proportions. Tluee hours. 

UPPER SCHOOL. 

III Class. The applications of proportions to questions of weight, strength, 
value, time, and general quantity. Two hours. 

II Class. Exercises in practical algebra. Two hours. 

I Class. Review of the course. First year, practical operations. Second, 
theory of arithmetical processes. Two hours. 

Third. Vocal Music. 

LOWER SCHOOL. 

VII «fc VI Classes. Practice of songs, adapted to youth of a cheerful, serious, 
military, or religious cast, with one part. Two hours. 

V & IV Classes. Choral and other songs, with the different parts. Elements 
of music. Two hours. 

UPPER SCHOOL. 

Ill, II, & I Classes. More difficult choral pieces. Theoretical instruction 
continued. One hour. There is, besides, instruction given to a select choir, in- 
tended to conduct the vocal exercises of the church. 

Fourth. Reading. In the lower classes, a readiness in reading, and in the 
higher, the style of reading, is attended to especially. Pieces learned previously, 
by heart, are recited. 

LOWER SCHOOL. 

VII Class. A good pronunciation, and some facility in reading. Six hours. 
VI Class. Readiness in reading, and repeating the substance of what has been 
read. Familiar illustrations. Five hours. 

V Class. Reading some work in reference to knowledge useful in common 
life. Four hours. 

IV Class. Reading, with attention to emphasis. Four hours. 

UPPER SCHOOL. 

III Class. Reading the Bible and Sacred Melodies, with the view to correct 
reading in this kind of composition. Two hours. 

II Class. Reading various selected works, in and out of the class. 

I Class. Reading continued, and recitations from works previously read. 

Fifth. Orthography and Writing. Tlicsc may bo taught together in the same 
way as mental and written aritimietic ; the teacher is, however, at liberty to fol- 
low his own mrtliod. 



MILITARY OUPIIAX-HOUSK AT ANNABURG. 127 

LOWER SCHOOL. 

VII Class. Copying on slates from the black-board. Four hours. 

VI Class. Copying- on paper, from the board, and from books. Four hours. 

V Class. Writing from copy-slips, from books, or from dictation. (Practice 
in spelling and writing). Four hours. 

IV Class. Similar exercises continued. Four hours. 

UPPER SCHOOL. 

III Class. Copying useful papers, such as registers, accounts, contracts, &-C. 
Two hours. 

II Class. Calligraphy, with Roman as well as German letters, practice in or- 
thography, reading of letters and documents in various handwritings. Two 
hours. 

I Class. Copying papers relating to the management of the institution, as a 
practical introduction to business. One hour. 

Sixth. Useful Knowledge taught by induction. 

LOWER SCHOOL. 

VII Class. The pupils give their ideas, verbally, of surrounding objects of the 
most simple kind, of the commonest productions of nature and art. Conversa- 
tions relating to them. Drawing the most simple mathematical figures on the 
slate. Three hours. 

VI Class. Descriptions of animals and plants, tlic former in the winter, the 
latter in the summer term. Written remarks on these, serving to afford exer- 
cise in the formation of phrases and in orthography. Four hours. 

V Class. The most essential parts of physics and natural history, the pupils 
taking notes of the lessons. Four hours. 

IV Class. Compositions on various subjects. Letters relating to civil and 
military affairs. Four hours. 

UPPER SCHOOL. 

Ill Class. History of Prussia and drawing of maps. Four hours. 

II Class. General geography, particularly that of Europe. Passing from 
physical to political geography. Civil geography in connexion with the former. 
Five hours. 

I Class. Universal history. One year is devoted to ancient and one to mo- 
dern history. Selections are made of the more important parts of history. Five 
hours. 

The remaining studies only belong to the higher school. 

Seventh. German Grammar and Style. 

UPPER SCHOOL. 

III Class. Logical and grammatical construction of the German language 
taught. 

II Class. Idiom of the language. Compositions on military subjects, with 
especial reference to correctness of grammar. 



128 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

I Class. Acquaintance with liie best writers. Exercises of composition on 
subjects taken from history. 

Eighth. Geometry. 

UPPER SCHOOL. 

Ill Class. Teacliing the names and properties of mathematical figures by in- 
duction, in connexion with drawing. 

II Class. Equations, with application to problems of common life. 

I Class. Elements of trigonometry. 

Ninth. Drawing, 

UPPER SCHOOL. 

III Class. Drawings from common objects, varying the positions, &:.c. 

II Class. Copying flowers, or drawings of implements. 

I Class. Architectural drawing with instruments, drawings of furniture, &c. 

I have allowed myself to present this extended programme, 
because it conveys, in as brief a compass as possible, excellent 
ideas of the succession of courses in an elementary school, and 
in a technical or trade school, for such the higher school must 
be considered. It should be remembered that the main purpose 
is the preparation of youth for the military service, and hence 
that the wants of the service are especially consulted. Another 
fact must be remembered, namely, that this is a Lutheran school, 
and therefore the religious instruction is adapted to the parti- 
cular views of that church. The course of morals of the third 
class, I must say, however, seems to me out of its place, for 
although our duties to God and our neighbour are of course 
best learned from his Word, yet their inculcation by precept 
and example cannot commence too early. 

In the arithmetical course, the union of mental and written 
arithmetic is absolutely essential. The gradation appears to me 
good, and the application to questions of common life gives a 
zest to such studies, attainable in no other way. The theory of 
arithmetical processes, however, should accompany or follow 
more nearly their practical acquisition. Indeed, if they are 
taught as they ought to be, by induction, the theory goes with 
the practice. 

If the youth at Annaburg take the same pleasure in the 
exercises of song, from the elements to the completion of the 



ORPHAN-HOUSES OF POTSDAM AND LITTLE GLIENCKE. 129 

musical course, as those of the school actually superintended 
by the author of this project, the success will be complete. 

The connexion of orthography and writing, especially if 
combined with early reading, is natural. 

The exercises of induction, which in the lower classes are well 
drawn out, deviate from the appropriate track in the fourth class, 
and in the geographical and historical courses do not return to 
it. The system in both these branches is rather synthetical than 
inductive. There is a great temptation to break away from this 
method, into that of giving positive instruction, from the appa- 
rently greater rapidity of progress of the pupil; some teachers 
have abandoned it altogether, as too slow, though ultimately 
to their cost, as appeared to me in cases where I had an oppor- 
tunity of comparing the results. 

The writing is preceded by an introduction course of draw- 
ing, which might with excellent effect be so extended as to 
branch out into complete courses of drawing and writing. 

As this plan results from an extended experience, the number 
of hours of instruction, per week, necessary to secure the results, 
is an important datum, and as such I have retained it, whenever 
it was inserted in the original programme. 



CIVIL ORPHAN-HOUSE AT POTSDAM, AND ORPHAN-HOUSE AT 
LITTLE GLIENCKE. 

Besides the Military Orphan-house at Potsdam, there are two 
other orphan-houses at and near the city, the general arrange- 
ments of which I propose here to describe. From their limited 
number of pupils, and other peculiarities, they will not require 
a full discussion. 

The founder of both these interesting establishments is coun- 
sellor Von Tiirk, whose enlightened benevolence, aided by the 
means of his friends, has furnished homes and education, in one 
of these establishments, for the sons of deceased physicians, 
clergymen, &c., and in the other, for the orphans of country 
schoolmasters, and of the inferior officers of government. The 
first, called the Civil Orphan-house of Potsdam, has twenty-four 
17 



130 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

pupils under its charge, of whom sixteen reside in the house, the 
others beinoj assisted at the dwellin2;s of their mothers. The 
pupils first enter the excellent burgher school of Potsdam, and 
when they have reached its first class, (or at between thirteen 
and fourteen years of age,) choose, according to their disposi- 
tion and talent, their future course. According to this, they pass 
to the trade school, the school for teachers, or the gymnasium. 
Those of ordinary parts are apprenticed at fourteen. A teacher 
lives with them and superintends their studies. 

Those who have passed through the gymnasium, are sup- 
ported at the" universities by foundations. The road is thus 
opened to merit in any direction in which it may exhibit itself. 
The institution is merely the home, and the public schools af- 
ford to it, at a very cheap rate, precisely the kind of instruction 
which is required. The advantages here given to particular 
orphans are, doubtless, those which our founder intended to be 
extended to all, and that within the institution itself; an idea 
requiring means no less ample than those which he has devoted 
to it, to secure its successful execution. 

In the Orphan-house of Little Gliencke, the pupils receive 
such an education as may fit them for mechanical pursuits, or 
as introductory to the profession of a teacher in the elementary 
schools of Prussia. Provision to receive a higher education 
is made for those who distinguish themselves. The pupils are 
engaged a portion of each day in manual labour: in summer, 
in agriculture, the rearing of mulberry trees, and in gardening, 
having also an opportunity to learn the management of bees and 
silk-worms. In the winter, with manufactures of straw and 
making nets, and some of the elder boys in joinery work, mo- 
delling, and smithing. The number of boys is only thirteen, 
so that but one teacher is needed, who lives with them con- 
stantly, giving, himself, nearly all the instruction. Counsellor 
Von Turk takes a share in some departments, to which he 
has especially devoted himself, as for example the connexion 
of arithmetic and geometry. The discipline is of the family 
kind. The boys are divided into classes of two, three, or four, 
according to their progress. The teacher now in this school, 



ORPHAN-HOUSE OF FRANKFORT ON MAINE. 131 

is one of those instances of ardent attachment and devotion to 
his profession, such as arc more frequently seen in Prussia 
than in any other country to which my researches extended. 

ORPHAN-HOUSE OF FRANKFORT ON MAINE. 

This establishment makes no pretensions to giving an edu- 
cation above that intended to fit its pupils for trades, but in the 
means taken to give them a general mechanical dexterity, ap- 
plicable to their future pursuits, as well as in the paternal 
character of its discipline,* it is not surpassed by any of the in- 
stitutions which I have visited. I am satisfied that this idea of 
the object of manual labour may be carried out to great ad- 
vantage in our college, and indulge a confident expectation 
that, by a judicious selection of masters, the discipline of the in- 
stitution, notwithstanding its enlarged scale, may be as mild as 
that of the school now under discussion. 

The present buildings of the orphan-house are well situated, 
and commodiously arranged, with a neat garden in front, a 
pretty chapel at one end of the garden, and the other buildings 
on a long line at right angles to the front of the chapel. About 
a century ago the rights of orphans to education from the pub- 
lic were so little acknowdedged, that they were ranked with 
offenders, or when better oft^ than this, with adult paupers. 
There are many examples of both those connexions in the his- 
tory of European orphan-houses, and the former existed in the 
case of the Frankfort establishment, until towards the close of 
the last century, the orphan-house being, up to that time, a 
branch of the correction-house. The present establishment 
shows what a great change in public sentiment has taken 
place since that period. The buildings date from 1829-32. 
The income is derived in part from landed and in part from 
funded property. It is managed by twelve trustees, usually se- 
lected from among the elder senators of the city. Under these 
is the head master, who controls all the in-door affairs of the 



* This and the present improved general condition of the institution, are due 
to the enlightened efforts of the head master, the Rev. Mr. Schaeffer. 



132 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

institution, and is responsible for its efficiency. He is re-eli- 
gible every four years, a tenure quite unusual in similar schools, 
but attended with advantages in some points of view. The 
economist or steward, who is the only officer allowed to be a 
married man, has charge, under the head master, of providing 
for the household. There are two assistant teachers, re-eligible 
every year. 

The pupils are fatherless children, or, in certain cases, other 
destitute children and foundlings, the latter being paid for by 
the city. There are in all one hundred and ninety-five children 
at the charge of the institution, of whom ninety-five are boys, 
and thirteen very young children, who are boarded out of the 
house. The age of admission is six, and that of leaving the 
school between fourteen and fifteen, or after the celebration 
of their first communion. Places as apprentices are secured 
for those who are to leave the house, and they remain under 
its superintendence until the term of apprenticeship has ex- 
pired. They are then presented with a suit of clothes and a 
sum of money, and their connexion with the orphan-house 
ceases. 

The intellectual education is of the same grade, and em- 
braces nearly the same subjects, as at Hamburgh; the division 
is here, however, into three classes, each of which has its 
master, the head master passing from class to class, and hav- 
ing special charge of the religious instruction, and of the exer- 
cises of induction, arithmetic, and the elements of geometry. 
I had occasion to hear a recitation of the youngest class with 
him in the inductive exercises, and to remark how much more 
difficult his task was than that of a teacher in the neighbouring 
school, who had a class of the same age in the same subject; in 
fact it required considerable exertion on his part to induce them 
to exercise their reflective powers at all. As a general rule in 
Germany, where the temperament is less lively than in England, 
youths in this situation, many of them, before entering these in- 
stitutions, friendless, neglected, or ill used, require very peculiar 
management to elicit their mental powers, and in all the coun- 
tries which I visited, I observed that boys thus situated are, in 



ORPHAN-HOUSE OF FRANKFORT ON MAINE. 133 

general, below the average in animal spirits, and frequently in 
mental activity. 

The assistant teachers superintend the boys by turns during 
the hours when they are not in school, an arrangement, of the 
advantages of which I have often spoken. These teachers are 
re-appointed every year, the trustees judging this method more 
advisable than any stipulations as to removal. In point of fact, 
they have generally, after a number of years' service, I believe, 
the offer of more important situations, and their places are sup- 
plied from the qualified pupils of the institution. 

The discipline, in general, is addressed to the moral senti- 
ments and aflections. No prizes are given to stimulate to study. 
Keeping the boys from play or work, requiring them to work 
alone, admonition, solitary confinement, and, as a last resort, 
corporeal chastisement, are the punishments. The character 
of each pupil is studied, as far as possible, and the means of 
repression or encouragement are applied accordingly. 

A diary is kept by each assistant-teacher, in which he enters 
not only the progress of every pupil, and of all the classes, 
but such remarks on the conduct as he may find necessary; 
the head master examines this diary, and confers with the un- 
der masters from time to time. There are, besides, regular 
meetings of the teachers held ev^ery week, as is usual in the 
German schools, and which serve not only to inform the seve- 
ral masters of the character and standing of each pupil, but as 
opportunities for giving and receiving advice in relation to me- 
thods of instruction or discipline. 

There is one vacation in the year, new year's day, on which 
the pupils are allowed to visit their friends. During two hours 
on every Sunday afternoon they receive their friends, who 
are provided with tickets for that purpose. There are oc- 
casions, however, of breaking through this strict seclusion, by 
the occupation of the boys in services connected with the 
town, which take them out of the walls of the institution.* 

* It is an evidence of the differences which prevail in regard to views of mo- 
rals, tliat, while with us lotteries are abolished, these youths actually receive a 
pecuniary reward for drawing the lotteries of the city of Frankfort. 



13 i F.LEEMOSVNARV INSTITUTION'S. 

Besides the religious instruction in the school-room, the children 
attend chapel once on Sunday, and, as the services are Lutheran, 
the Roman Catholic children are sent to a chapel in the city. 

The diet is more generous than that at Hamburgh, as they 
have meat for dinner three times a week. In regard to the 
kind of food necessary for nourishment, the practice of the con- 
tinent, while it is no example for England, seems much more 
applicable to our country, as far as the similarity of climate is 
concerned. Though our winters are generally longer, they are 
not more severe than those of the middle of Germany,* while 
our summers exceed theirs in heat. The supply of clothing is 
nearly the same as at Hamburgh. 

The discipline of the dormitories, wash-house, during the 
walks, &c., is rendered easier by the division of the pupils into 
squads of twelve, each having a monitor at its head. I am not 
aware that in any of these institutions the plan adopted at the 
London Orphan-house has been tried, of allowing the moni- 
tors to choose their own divisions; believing it to be attended 
with good results, I was anxious to see it further put to the 
test of use under different circumstances. It is under the 
charge of these monitors that the clothes are served out, and 
the usual duties of police executed. The dormitories are pro- 
vided with iron bedsteads, each pupil sleeping separately. The 
assistant masters occupy beds in the two end dormitories, hav- 
ing thus a general superintendence of the pupils at night, as well 
as at rising and retirinfi;. 

The principal house-work being performed by the pupils, one 
male and one female servant only are required. 

Besides the employment in handicraft work, two hours every 
day, the pupils have an hour of regular gymnastic exercises, 
and on Wednesday they walk, or bathe in the Maine, according 
to the season. They also do much of the household work 
which is not appropriate to girls, split and pile the wood, &c. 
The pupils, though in general healthy in appearance, were per- 



• During my journey in the winter of 1837-8, the thermometer was reported 
once as low as — 6J^ Fahr., at Gotha, near the centre of Germany. 



ORPHAN-HOUSE OK FRANKFORT ON MAINE. 135 

ceptibly less robust than those of some neighbouring schools. 
I do not, however, lay much stress on the comparison, as it 
leaves out of view many elements, as, for example, the import- 
ant ones of the health of the parents, and the physical develop- 
ment of the children before entering, and I was satisfied that 
neglect of physical education could not justly be imputed to 
the institution. In sickness, a physician is called in, and the 
boys are transferred to the infiirmary. 

The handicraft employments are well arranged, so as to 
avoid two difficulties — on the one hand, that of forcing the in- 
clination of a pupil to work which does not suit him; and on 
the other, allowing him to acquire habits of unsteadiness by go- 
ing from one occupation to another. Each pupil is at liberty 
to choose which of the handicrafts he will engage in at the be- 
ginning of any quarter, but when his choice is made, he must 
remain in this division for three months at least, unless special 
reasons determine the master to permit a change. The manual 
occupations are making baskets, mats, cord, turning, book- 
binding, working in iron and brass wire, shoemaking, and tai- 
loring. In summer, gardening is added to the list. Some boys 
who have a taste for music, are afforded means of improving 
it. The little boys are occupied in knitting, a very general oc- 
cupation in the German schools for young children of both 
sexes. Each trade has its own room, and its superintendent. 
There are regular instructors in those branches in which the 
teachers cannot give instruction. The articles made are none 
of them sold, but generally used in the institution. 

The order of the day is as follows: 

The elder boys rise at five in summer, w'ash and dress, and 
go to morning prayers. The younger boys rise at six. All 
breakfast between six and seven. The elder boys are occupied 
in tailoring, or cleaning the hall, or carrying wood to the kitchen, 
and other household duties, until seven. All have instruction 
from seven until ten. Are occupied at handcrafts from ten 
until twelve. Dine at twelve. Arc occupied in personal police 
and play from one to two. In school from two until four, ex- 
cept on Wednesdays and Saturdays. At four, have a luncheon 



136 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

of bread. From five to six, all are preparing for the lessons of 
the following day, except twelve, who are occupied by turns, 
from four to six, in the tailor's room. From six to seven, gym- 
nastic exercises. At seven, take supper, which is followed by 
evening prayers. The younger boys retire at eight, and the 
elder ones are, in summer, in the garden until nine, and in win- 
ter engaged in handicrafts. 

In winter they rise one hour later, but in general the order 
of the day is nearly the same as in summer. 

By comparing the number of hours employed in this school 
and at Hamburgh, it will be found that, generally, they agree 
very well. In the intellectual education thus measured, this 
school is very little behind Hamburgh. It has considerable ad- 
vantage on the score of the occupation in trades, while the 
other excels it in the opportunities for play and the exercises 
of gymnastics. If we judged only by the programme of studies 
at Halle, Hamburgh, and Frankfort, we should place the intel- 
lectual education on a par, except that in Halle some few in the 
highest class study Latin and others French; but, on examining 
the number of hours of occupation, we find four hours of study 
in Halle to one in Frankfort, and one hour more of school ex- 
ercise: this is sufficient to show that the studies are pursued 
further, though the same in kind, a fact confirmed by my ex- 
amination. The select class, when it existed at Hamburgh, 
■was probably on a par with the oldest class at Halle. This 
uniformity I believe to be attributable to the common sense 
view taken by the German schoolmasters, who have given the 
impress to the present system, of adapting means to ends. They 
begin by laying down the purpose of a school, and then or- 
ganize it accordingly, and I believe the boys at Frankfort to 
be quite as well fitted as those at Halle for the particular posi- 
tion which they are to occupy. When boys are to be pushed 
in their studies, so as to select the best to carry forward, then 
the time of study must be increased, as at Halle, or a select 
class must be established, as formerly at Hamburgh. It will be 
observed that in all these schools, the interest of the majority 
of the boys is made the regulating principle of the instruction. 



SCHOOL FOR soldiers' CHILDREN AT STRUPPEN. 137 



SCHOOL FOR SOLDIERS' CHILDREN AT STRUPPEN, NEAR 

DRESDEN. 

This institution is under the enlightened superintendence of 
the Minister of War of Saxony? and under the immediate di- 
rection of a teacher,* who carries out the plan in a thorough 
Way, both as regards manual labour and instruction. The pupils 
are the orphan boys of soldiers, and are received at an early age, 
and prepared for apprenticeship in civil life, or for the army. 
The system is a judicious mixture of instruction and work; in 
winter, at various trades and family occupations, and in sum- 
mer, out of doors, in the garden and fields, as well as in-doors. 

The institution is beautifully situated on the borders of the 
Saxon Switzerland, and its accommodations are well adapted 
to the purposes of the school. 

The grade of instruction is that of an elementary school, the 
subjects being religious instruction, the German language, read- 
ing, arithmetic, the elements of geometry and natural philoso- 
phy, natural history, geography and history, writing, drawing, 
and singing. A portion of the classes were examined upon the 
principal subjects of study during my visit,f and specimens of 
their writing and drawing were submitted for inspection. The 
proficiency of the pupils was highly satisfactory. 

The distribution of the time which is allotted to intellectual 
instruction, during the winter session, is given below. There 
are three classes, of which the highest is called " select," many 
pupils, however, are apprenticed to a trade, or enter the army 
as drummers or musicians, before reaching that grade. 

The basis of their education is moral and religious, and the 
principal subjects in addition, are the mother tongue, and ma- 
thematics. The study of French by the select class is easily 
explained, from the peculiar political position of Saxony in re- 
ference to the rest of the German states, 



* Mr. Braun. 

t For the advantag'cous opportunity of visiting this school in his company, t 
am indebted to the Minister of War of Saxony, Lieut. General Von Zezsclnvits. 
18 



138 



ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 



Table of the distribution of study at the School for Soldiers' Children 
at Struppen, near Dresden. 





WINTER TERM. 


SUMMER TERM. 


O 
o 

m 


o 


O 

s 

o 

o 


o 

o 


1 

SI 


§ 
O 


Religious Instruction, - - - 


5 


6 


6 


6 


6 


6 


German Language, ... - 


7 


5 


5 


6 


4 


3 


Reading, 




2 


5 


2 


2 


2 


Arithmetic, 


2 


4 


4 


2 


5 


4 


Geometry, 


3 


3 


1 


2 


1 




Natural Philosophy, - - - 


1 


] 




1 


1 




Natural History, . . - . 




1 




1 


1 


1 


Geography and History, - - 


2 


2 




2 


2 


2 


French, 


2 












Writing, 


2 


2 


3 


2 


2 


4 


Drawing, 


2 


2 




2 


2 


2 


Singing, 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 




28 


30 


26 


28 


28 


26 



The distribution of instruction and labour is such, that during 
the week, in summer, each class has from twenty-six to twenty- 
eight hours of instruction, and from twenty to twenty-two of 
manual labour, and during the winter, from twenty-six to thirty 
hours of instruction, and from eighteen to twenty-one of work. 
The various trades and occupations within doors are tailoring, 
(making and mending their own clothes), shoemaking and 
mending, sawing and chopping wood for the house, working in 
pasteboard, in straw, and in wood, making nets, filling mat- 



SCHOOL FOR SOLDIEKS' CHILDREN AT STRUPPfiN. 139 

tresses, spinning, writing for tiie war office and school, and 
miscellaneous house work. These occupations are all carried 
on regularly, and with a view to defray a portion of the ex- 
penses of the institution; the farm is worked for the same pur- 
pose, and there is a large dairy attached to it. The pupils are 
detailed for the different duties every month, and the regular 
hours of work are fixed by the school programme. 

The order of the day in winter is as follows: the pupils rise 
at six o'clock, wash, dress, and make their beds. At seven, 
they attend prayers, and take their breakfast. From eight to 
twelve, there is instruction every week-day, with an intermis- 
sion of a quarter of an hour at ten o'clock for recreation and 
luncheon. From twelve until two, they dine, have recreation 
and gymnastic exercises. From two until five, except in the 
cases of a few pupils, there is manual labour. From five to six, 
recreation and supper. From six to eight, study, singing les- 
sons, and manual labour. At half past eight, prayers, and at 
nine the classes retire. In summer they rise at five, at half 
past six have prayers, and religious instruction until seven. 
Breakfast, and have recreation until eight. Are engaged in 
school or manual labour until twelve, with an intermission of a 
quarter of an hour, for relaxation, at ten. Have recreation, 
gymnastic exercises, and dine between twelve and two. Are 
engaged in school or manual labour until six, with an interval 
at five for recreation, during which, as in the morning, they 
receive a luncheon of bread. On Wednesday afternoon, they 
bathe in the Elbe, which is at an easy walk from the institution. 
About seven o'clock they sup, and then are free until the hour 
for prayers, towards nine o'clock. At nine they retire. 

The arrangements of the school are military, the students 
wear a neat uniform, and those who are appointed to the 
command of the others at meals, in the dormitories, &c., are 
distinguished by particular badges. The discipline is mild. 
The fare exceedingly simple. In the morning, flour gruel, or 
milk and bread is given for breakfast; at noon, vegetables for 
dinner, except on one day of the w eek a milk gruel. They also 
receive a piece of bread in the intervals of recreation, in the 



140 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

morning in winter, and both morning and afternoon in summer. 
The appearance of the children is healthy. 

The number of pupils in the several classes, in 1837-8, was, 
in the select class twenty-six, in the first class forty-seven, and 
in the second class fifty-one. Total, one hundred and twenty- 
four. There is a principal and two assistant teachers, besides 
those for the handicrafts. The steward has charge of the farm, 
and gives the pupils instruction in agriculture. 

ST. JOHN'S ORPHAN-HOUSE AT PRAGUE. 

This was the best orphan-house which I visited in the Aus- 
trian dominions, and I give it as containing some of the peculiar 
arrangements found in southern Germany. 

History, Building, and General Government. The institution 
was founded in 1773, after the close of the seven years' war, 
by Count Runigh and others, for the maintenance and educa- 
tion of twenty-five orphans. The funds* have been increased 
by imperial grants, especially by those of Maria Theresa, and 
in consequence of a fever of violent type having broken out in 
the house, which was attributed to its contracted dimensions, 
that empress gave money for erecting a more spacious one. 
The present building contains not only all necessary accommo- 
dations, but is better adapted to its object than most of the or- 
phan-houses which I have seen on the continent. It contains 
large halls for school-rooms and studies, for dormitories, and 
for a refectory, for examinations, and dancing lessons; also, a 
chapel with a gallery for the choir, a meeting-room for the 
trustees, and for the teachers, apartments for the teachers, &c. 

The establishment is administered by seven trustees, appoint- 
ed by the city of Prague, each of whom takes a separate de- 
partment of it under his superintendence, the president having a 
general responsibility. They meet once a month at the house, 
for the transaction of business, inspect the institution every 
quarter, and receive a yearly report from the superintendent 
who has charge of all the departments. At present, one of the 

* TJie income is now about twcnty-one thousand dollars. 



ST. John's oRPHArr-riousE at Prague. 141 

teachers has been chosen to this office, but continues also to 
give instruction. 

There are, besides, three teachers, and one assistant, all of 
whom, as well as the superintendent, must be unmarried. The 
teachers hold monthly conferences, to discuss the progress and 
conduct of the pupils, a system which cannot be too warmly 
recommended, as producing concert of action in teachers of 
the same age, and improvement in younger ones. The eco- 
nomy of the house is in charge of a stewardess, who receives 
a fixed sum for the board of each pupil and teacher, and has, 
besides, a small salary from the institution, with certain per- 
quisites. 

Admission, S^c. To be admitted, a child must be fatherless, the 
son of a citizen of Prague, or of one of the inferior town officers, 
in necessitous circumstances, and of six years of age. On appli- 
cation for admission, a certificate of the marriage of parents, of 
baptism, vaccination, and of having attended school, must be pre- 
sented. There is no fixed age beyond which children are not re- 
ceived, but in general they are not admitted when over twelve 
years. Special exceptions to these rules, particularly as regards 
being the sons of burghers, have been made in certain cases, 
as, for example, in the orphans rendered so by the cholera. 

When the claims of several children are considered equal, 
and the number of applications exceed the vacancies, they are 
obliged to draw for their places. If it is discovered, after the 
admission of a child, that any deception has been used, his 
friends are obliged to pay the expenses which have been in- 
curred for his maintenance, &c. The admission takes place 
once a year, on St. John's day. 

The pupils are retained until between thirteen and fourteen 
years of age, and are then apprenticed by the institution. At 
the close of the apprenticeship, they receive certain gratuities. 
As the custom of paying apprentice fees still exists in Austria, 
and the institution does not pay them, these children are obliged 
to serve for a longer term than others, as an equivalent. The 
master to whom they are bound is obliged, if he have fault to 



142 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

find with his apprentice, to report it to the trustees, and in gene- 
ral cannot break the indenture without consuUing them. No 
regular provision is made for tiie advancement of the more 
intelligent. 

According to the rules of the house, children who are not 
orphans may be taken on the payment of a certain sum an- 
nually. This practice prevailed also formerly in some of the. 
orphan-houses of Switzerland. It was intended partly to bene- 
fit the funds of the house, and partly to prevent that isolation ot 
the orphans from society, which their own friendless condition 
would tend to produce. It has been found, however, not to 
work well. The objections which appeared here were twofold ; 
the want of equality in the pupils who were on the charity, and 
of those who paid, was a source of discomfort to the former, 
when the pay pupils were numerous, and the guardians of bad 
children frequently took advantage of this way of educating 
them, and thus the mass of the school was corrupted by the 
introduction of a few immoral individuals. The number of 
these pupils is, in consequence, in the course of gradual re- 
-duction. 

The whole number of boys in the house, in 1S37, was fifty. 

Educaliim. The courses of study here are those of the Aus- 
trian model high-school, and consist of reading, writing, arith- 
metic, geography, and German and Bohemian grammar. 

There arc three classes, the lowest of which, the first, can be 
passed through in one year, and the other two in from two to 
three years. 

As part of these children speak the Bohemian language only, 
and part the German, one of the main objects of instruction is 
to produce an interchange of the two. Accuracy is not at- 
tained by their intermixture in conversation, for they tend to 
corrupt each other's language by introducing a different idiom. 
The case is a very different one from that of a single indi- 
vidual placed in a community whose language he wishes 
to acquire, and the result shows conclusively that this differ- 
ence is not to be overlooked in determining how a foreign 
language is to be taught. The necessity for this devotion to 



ST. John's orphan-house at Prague. 143 

language for its own sake, limits very much tiie intellectual de- 
velopment of the pupils. 

Drawing is one of the courses in which very great pains are 
taken, and boys who have chosen their intended occupations, 
are directed to the kind of drawing judged most suitable for 
them. This selection is usually made about a year before leav- 
ing the house, so that some time is afforded for special drawing. 

Music is not taught in any form, except to the few who con- 
stitute the choir of the chapel; neither is singing used in the 
school, which, to my apprehension, is an important omission. 

The religious instruction of the school is giv'en, at present, by 
a Roman Catholic clergyman, one of the trustees,* who also 
holds a service on Sundays and holidays, in the chapel. The 
instruction consists of catechetical exercises, Bible history, &c. 

The teachers have not separate subjects precisely, nor yet 
are they confined to one class, to which they give instruction 
in several branches, but a kind of mixed system is in use, which 
is not very advantageous. The reason assigned for this is, 
that as each teacher must in turn superintend the study hours 
of all the classes, he must teach every class, in order to be 
able to keep them in due order. I was not satisfied with the 
result, and believe that either system, would be preferable, 
but that for an elementary school, like this, the class system, as 
far as it can be pursued, is the better. When a teacher is tho- 
roughly trained, for example, as those who are sent out by the 
seminaries for teachers in northern Germany, he has more than 
the acquirement requisite for such a purpose. 

Each teacher, in turn, is expected to superintend the pupils 
from rising until they are in bed, which is an excellent ar- 
rangement. In this he is assisted by certain boys, appointed 
to the charge of divisions of six, and who are selected for this 
purpose at the monthly conference of the teachers. 

The rewards for conduct and progress are permissions to 

* Pater Schneider has devoted the small amount now available as a salary for 
an ecclesiastic actinaf as instructor, to create, by its accumulation, a fund for a 
chaplain. His benefits to the institution cannot, however, be estimated by pecu- 
niary measure. 



144 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

visit friends on Sundays and holidays, the inscription of the pu- 
pil's name in a book of honour, presenting him favourably to 
the trustees, appointing him to the charge of others, and ren- 
dering him eligible to prizes at the examinations. These are 
only bestowed in cases where the conduct of a superintendent 
has been irreproachable for six months. 

The punishments are varied in reference to the dispositions 
of individuals, but consist principally in abridging their plea- 
sures. Corporal punishment is permitted, but is rarely re- 
sorted to. 

There are no mechanic arts taught in the institution, nor do 
the pupils even assist the workmen, (tailor and shoemaker,) 
who are employed in the house.* They take but Httle part in 
the police of the establishment, merely waiting on each other 
at meals. Thus they lose much good moral and physical dis- 
cipline. The gardens attached to the house are rented, and. 
nothing but their play-ground reserved for the use of the boys. 
Their exercises consist of gymnastics and of walks in sum- 
mer almost every day, and in winter, in walks on Thursday 
and Sunday, and dancing. Their health is in general good, no 
indisposition having occurred during the year before my visit, 
requiring the use of the sick-room. The clothing is ample, in 
the ordinary fashion of the boys of the town, and is changed 
from winter to summer. They have an out and in-door suit, 
which are supplied as the occasion requires. 

The diet is quite generous, resembling that of the English 
schools, more than those of northern Germany. They have 
meat every day but Friday, and in the evening beer, with 
bread and butter. This fare shows how local such matters 
are, when we find in the south a northern diet and beverage. 
Their food is inspected by the superintendent, and by one of the 
trustees, who attends from time to time for that purpose. The 
teachers dine in the same hall with the boys, and, with the stew- 
ardess, superintend them at meals. The boys who wait at 
table receive a small gratuity for their services. 

* Thcrn arc five fonale servants, brsidcs a porter for the Jionse service. 



ST. John's orphan-house at Prague. 145 

The provision for cleanliness is, in general, good. There is 
a special wash-house for summer use, but in winter they are 
obliged to use the school-rooms for this and other duties of 
cleanliness, which, it is needless to say, is a very bad arrange- 
ment. The police of the dormitories is good, and the linen fre- 
quently changed ; each boy has his own bed, but the bedsteads 
are of wood, except in the dormitories of the infirmary, where 
iron has been introduced, and its advantage recognised. A 
teacher sleeps in each dormitory, and a lamp is kept burning 
through the night. 

The order of the day gives four hours of study, four of reci- 
tation, three devoted to household duties, meals, &c., four and 
a-half to play, exercise, and gymnastics, and eight and a-half 
to sleep, in the summer time. In the winter they rise half an 
hour later than in summer. 



19 



146 e:leemosyivary institutions. 



CHAPTER III. 



NOTICES OF THE ORPHAN-HOUSES OF HOLLAND. 

There are two classes of Orphan-houses in Holland, the first 
are conducted with a view to strict economy as the primary 
consideration, the second are foundation establishments, which 
before the French occupation were rich, and are, even now, usu- 
ally sufficiently well ofl'to look to higher considerations than those 
of mere economy, and to give those pupils who show great in- 
telligence a better education than ordinary. Both classes of 
these schools have an interesting provision in the late age to 
which the pupils are superintended by the establishment, which 
replaces the home of the more fortunate child; and as the mode 
of carrying out the provision will appear equally by selecting 
an institution of either class, T shall take for description the 
Burgher Orphan-house of Amsterdam, which belongs to the 
second. In charge of the trustees of the orphan-houses at Utrecht 
and the Hague, are certain foundations for educating young men 
of talent, which I shall describe in connexion with a few re- 
marks on those establishments. 

It is a remarkable fact that one country borrows very little 
from another, in regard to the organization of such institu- 
tions, while similar idoas prevail in nearly all where parti- 
cular signs of nationality are exhibited. They all have a 
tendency, too, to retain the organization, in every respect, 
of a past age, and when the world around them is changing 
rapidly, are left behind in regard both to matters of little 
importance, such as dress and diet, and also to the essen- 
tials of education. In countries where education is in a 
state of transition, they are in general the last to benefit by 
the changes, an observation which will serve to explain my 
silence in regard to many of the schools which I visited with- 
out the invidiousness of special remark. My mission was 



EURtSHER ORPIIAN-IIOUSE OF AMSTERDAM. 147 

rather to discover, if possible, the good, and to place some 
account of their peculiarities before the Board, than to notice 
all indiscriminately. I have considered myself bound to notice 
defects in those described, where they seemed to bear upon 
our institution, and have treasured up mistakes of various kinds, 
as warnings to which we may profitably turn, but I have felt 
the task of presenting either in this Report an ungrateful one, and 
have avoided it where I could do so without a violation of duty. 

BURGHER ORPHAN-HOUSE OF AfllSTERDAM. 

This establishment was founded in 1520, by a charitable 
lady (Haasje Plaas), who, during her lifetime, had educated 
several orphan children, and at her decease left a house and 
funds to continue this benevolent practice. Subsequent legacies, 
by citizens of Amsterdam, have increased the funds of the in- 
stitution, which at present supports itself, without drawing upon 
the resources either of the city or the state. There are six 
trustees, or governors, who are named by the magistrates of 
the city, and have absolute control over the institution and its 
funds. The Board meets once a week, at the house, and the 
president is charged, in the interim, with all their duties and 
powers. They report yearly to the burgomaster of the city. 

The officers of the establishment are, a director, who attends 
to the out-door affairs, and to whom, when the trustees are not 
in session, the other officers of the house are responsible. A 
superintendent, and matron for the boys, and another for the 
girls, called in the language of the orphan-houses of Holland, 
the father and mother of the boys and of the girls. The super- 
intendent of the boys has charge of them at all times, but es- 
pecially when not in school; has the power to correct them at 
discretion, reporting the circumstances to the president on his' 
daily visit. He makes a verbal report to the trustees at their 
weekly meetings. The other superintendent, the steward of the 
house, and the two matrons, have charge of the kitchen, of the 
clothing, and the domestic work. The arrangement by which 
the boys are intrusted out (jf school hours to an officer as high 
as a superintendent, is much better than that of turning them 



148 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

over to servants, but the danger is, that the inspection comes 
at last to be really executed by the latter, since the superinten- 
dent has many other duties to attend to, and some of which call 
him away from the house. 

The servants are, two nurses for the sick, one to take care 
of the children below eleven years of age, who are united in 
one building, and five women. A baker is attached to the es- 
tablishment, receiving a salary, and a shoemaker does the work 
of the house on his own account. 

The buildings are very commodious, and so arranged as to 
admit of an entire separation of the two sexes in the older de- 
partment. The neatness of Holland is too proverbial to require 
remark on that score. There is a commodious chapel, and the 
boys' department has memorials of deceased pupils who have 
distinguished themselves in after-life, to serve as a stimulus to 
the present generation. 

This institution was founded for the children of those who 
had the rights of citizenship in Amsterdam, and now that these 
rights are obsolete, descendants of those who formerly enjoyed 
them may claim the places, and children of parents by whom 
a certain amount has been paid may be admitted. Children 
who have lost a parent have a preference over others, and 
those who have lost both parents are considered to have the 
strongest claim. 

There are three hundred and thirty-nine pupils in the charge 
of the institution; of these, one hundred and fourteen are boys 
below fourteen years of age. The instruction is on the footing 
of the elementary schools of Holland, and will be hereafter des- 
cribed in detail. It does not require special notice here. The 
teachers are selected as in the other schools of Holland, by com- 
petition, unless there is some one whose abilities are sufficiently 
known to the trustees not to make examination necessary. At 
fourteen, the boys are apprenticed, or begin the studies prepa- 
ratory to sea service ; they are frequently, in the latter case, 
drafted into the army at the age of eighteen, but always remain 
''children of the house" until they reach twenty years of age. 
Those who are apprenticed return to the house to lodge, and 



BURGHER ORPHAN-HOUSE OF AMSTERDAM. 149 

to rpceive instruction in the evening, and those who go to sea, 
come back to the institution as to a home, at the end of every 
voyage. The superintendent of the boys is charged with fre- 
quent visits of inspection at the houses where they are appren- 
ticed, during which he informs himself of their conduct and 
progress. This regulation I regard as much better contrived 
than that of the English schools, where the boys are to receive 
money at certain stated periods during their apprenticeship; so 
loose a connexion being attended with little advantage. In the 
former case, the superintendent really supplies the place of a 
father, and the house of a home for the orphan child, who, in- 
stead of being thrown upon the world at once, from his state 
of seclusion, is by degrees prepared to begin his solitary career, 
A theoretical objection, made sometiines to this course, is, that 
these boys, acquiring bad habits out of doors, return, and may 
communicate the infection to those within, but there are many 
reasons why this result should not take place. The boys are 
supposed to be well brought up, and to return daily to the fami- 
ly, still under superintendence, the object of which is to prevent 
the acquisition of those bad habits which they are assumed at 
once to have acquii'ed. Besides, they do not mingle freely with 
the pupils of the house; on the contrary, their return is at stated 
intervals, for fixed purposes, needing no communication with 
the others. I took particular pains to inform myself in the dif- 
ferent institutions where this practice prevails in the form in 
which I have described it, and was told, that it was not pro- 
ductive of any bad results. I remember especially the remark 
of the superintendent of the Orphan-house of the Reformed 
Church at Amsterdam, that if the arrangement gave much 
more trouble than it really did, he was so well satisfied of its 
good fruits, that he should regret to see it abandoned. The 
idea is a beautiful one, and I should be most happy to see it 
fairly tried in our institution, and under our circumstances. The 
location of the Girard College is an obstacle, but not one that 
I should consider insurmountable. The practice of over-work 
with apprentices of an early age, cannot be too strongly depre- 
cated, and therefore I do not regard its existence as a bar to 



150 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS. 

the plan. If fairly tried and diligently watched, 1 should not' 
apprehend much risk of a failure, provided the school depart- 
ments are organized in a proper way. If it were found impos- 
sible, on account of the location of the College, a similar but 
less efficacious arrangement of superintendence, retaining the 
family connexion with the College, might be substituted for it. 
The first mentioned arrangement would, perhaps, limit the 
number of places for our apprentices to particular quarters of 
the city, though this could hardly occur, connected as the dif- 
ferent parts of the city are by ready and cheap conveyances. 

The religious instruction given in the Burgher Orphan-house 
is according to the doctrines of the reformed church of Holland, 
and dissenters go to their own ministers for instruction. There 
are two clergymen attached to the house, who hold catechetical 
and other exercises on Wednesday evening and on Sunday. 
There are, besides, morning and evening prayers, and the usual 
grace and thanks before and after meals. During meals, one of 
the pupils reads aloud from the Bible, a practice which, as con- 
ducted, is not only unserviceable, but savours, in my opinion, of 
irreverence. The punishments are, preventing from a visit to 
friends on Sunday, admonition, particular places at table, con- 
finement with or without the usual food, and dismission. Cor- 
poral chastisement is not used. The location at table is a 
public punishment, and liable, on that account, to objection. 
There are no regular vacations, but in the holiday time of other 
schools the pupils are allowed to go to their friends, if request 
is made, and there is no objection on the part of the officers of 
the institution. Small pecuniary allowances are made to the 
pupils, at the discretion of the superintendent. 

The physical education of the children in the orphan houses 
of Holland, on the average, is by no means attended to as in 
those of Germany. Gymnastics have never found favour in 
Holland, and amusements out of doors are less in accordance 
with the spirit of the children than in England, from causes 
connected, no doubt, originally with the peculiarities of the 
surface of their country. At the orphan colonies of William- 
soord, the boys are occupied in agriculture, and are certainly 



THE REJfSW'OUDE FOUNDATIONS. 151 

more robust in consequence. The play-grounds of the city 
orphan-houses are in general very contracted, and do not admit 
of active sports taking place in them. 

The following is the order of the day in winter. The elder 
boys rise at half past five, the younger at seven. Their break- 
fast of bread and butter is taken as soon as they are washed 
and dressed, those who live out of the house receiving theirs, 
which they may take away with them. From nine until half 
past eleven there is school for the boys of the house, and again 
from ten until four. They dine at one, sup at half past eight, 
and retire at ten. They are free to amuse themselves from 
after supper until bed time. The time devoted to instruction 
gives an idea of the limited course intended. There is no pro- 
vision for the development of higher intellect in regular con- 
nexion with the institution. 

THE RENSWOUDE FOUNDATIONS. 
These foundations are for the benefit of the orphan-houses of 
Utrecht and the Hague, and the funds are administered by their 
governors. They were left by a lady,* (Mrs. Van Renswoude,) 
for the purpose of training those pupils who distinguished them- 
selves, to higher callings not requiring a complete university edu- 
cation. There are seven young men now on this foundation at 
Utrecht, and six at the Hague. Most of those selected have be- 
come highly respected in their professions, and several have risen 
to distinction. This is the more encouraging, that both the insti- 
tutions from which the young men have been chosen have but 
few inmates; neither have now more than twenty, and though 
formerly the number was larger, they have always been small 
establishments. As these youths are, upon the average, about 
seven years upon the foundation, there is only about one choice 
every year. The pupils are selected for these places when 
between eleven and thirteen years of age, and then receive, in 
or out of the orphan-house, a higher grade of instruction than 
the other children. After spending about two years in general 
studies, the youth and his teacher fix upon the profession which 
seems to promise fairest, and the pupil begins the particular 

* The " Vrv Vrouw Van Renswoude." 



15*2 ELEEMOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS, 

Studies most appropriate as a preparation. He resides in the 
house until it is necessary to seek in some public school, away 
from the city, the special branches necessary to his profession. 
When I visited the Hague school, three of the pupils on the 
Renswoude foundation were at Utrecht, attending to clinical 
medicine in the medical department of the university, one in the 
veterinary school of the same place, one studying mathematics 
at Leyden, and one, a pupil of the architectural school, had 
gained the approbation of government, and been sent to travel, 
at the public expense, for improvement in his art. Of ten pupils 
at Utrecht, who have been educated on this foundation, between 
1834 and 183G, one is a surgeon, one a veterinary surgeon, two 
are painters, one is a surveyor, two are officers in the colonies, 
two pilots, and one is an organ-builder. The actual director of 
the hydraulic works of Holland was a Renswoude pupil, and 
before the existence of special schools for professions requir- 
ing considerable scientific attainments, these foundations were 
of great importance. 

Before leaving the subject of the orphan-houses of Holland, 
I may state, that both at Utrecht and the Hague, and indeed, 
also in part at Rotterdam, the pupils reside in the house after 
having been apprenticed. x\t the Hague they are apprenticed 
at between twelve and thirteen years of age, a stipulation being 
made with the master in regard to the hours of meals and of 
the cessation of work. Both here and at Utrecht the insti- 
tution saves the gains of the apprentices, and pays them over 
to them on leaving the establishment, deducting only an allow- 
ance for pocket-money. At Rotterdam the institution retains 
five-sixths of the earnings, as an equivalent for the pupil's board- 
ing and education. In this latter institution the children are 
apprenticed at the early age of ten, in the city, and those who 
go to sea, at twelve. With so many examples there can be no 
doubt that, under the circumstances of society in Holland, and 
of the institutions in that country, this plan is not only perfectly 
practicable, but is entirely approved after full experience. The 
habits of life there are much more like those in England and the 
United States than those in any other nation of the continent 
of Europe. 



PART II. 



EDUCATION IN GENERAL. 



The first part of this Report is devoted to institutions for 
orphans and destitute children, as these might be supposed to 
bear more especially upon the organization of the Girard Col- 
lege. By examples selected from among the best establish- 
ments of the kind which I visited, the scope of these institutions 
has been shown to vary very considerably. In some we have 
seen provision made for preparing the more able students for 
the university; while others confined their training to the hum- 
bler walks of Hfe. In others, again, we have found systematic 
arrangements for educating the pupils to grades depending upon 
their abilities, and for occupations in life selected according 
to their particular talents. The foundations which have the 
means to accomplish the last named result are, however, few in 
number. There are but two among those in Great Britain 
which have funds adequate to the purpose, and I am not ac- 
quainted with a single institution on the continent of Europe 
which is thus endowed. The two in Great Britain originated 
at a period when distinction was only to be attained through 
the learned professions, and a character M^as thus impressed 
upon them which has not since been changed.- As a general 
rule, changes are less readily made in institutions of this class, 
than in the schools at large; so that when education is progres- 
sive, they are apt to be left behind. Nothing is clearer, how- 
ever, than that Mr. Girard intended his institution to have the 
entire range of usefulness to which I have referred. Hence 
my investigations would have been incomplete, had they not in- 
cluded public schools in general, and my Report deficient, did 
it not present to the trustees some account of the institutions for 
general education in those countries of Europe where it is on 
the best footing. From these descriptions various hints may 
20 



154 PUBLIC I.VSTRUCTION IN GENERAL. 

be gathered, and measures suggested which cannot fail to be 
serviceable in the general organization or minute arrangement 
of the Girai'd College. If this account should further contribute 
to awaken attention in our schools to improvements wliich have 
been introduced abroad, I air) sure that tiie trustees of the Girard 
College will feel gratified at this useful result of tlieir measures. 

The periods of education for which sepai'ate schools and dif- 
ferent materials of instruction have been appropriately provided, 
are, the Infant, the Elementary or Primary, the Secondary, and 
the Superior. Schools for the one class sometimes include de- 
partments for the other; but, in general, the classification holds 
good. These four classes include the period up to the age at 
■which education is completed, and the career of active life is 
commenced. The first period extends, generally, to six years 
of age; the second to ten or twelve years; the third to sixteen 
or eighteen; and the fourth to about twenty-one. These limits 
vary in diflerent countries, under difl^erent social organizations, 
and with different individuals. Circumstances do not permit 
every one to pass through these several periods, nor are they 
all required for the different callings of life. Hence the educa- 
tion frequently terminates with the elementary period, which is 
then extended to the age of fourteen. The limits of secondary 
instruction are frequently changed in the same way. As in all 
artificial classifications, the limits of the classes are not pre- 
cisely defined, though the division is, nevertheless, convenient 
for the arrangement and discussion of facts. 

The lowest period of education is entirely anterior to that at 
which the pupil must enter the Girard College, according to 
the will of the founder; but, for reasons which will be stated in 
the introduction to it, I have concluded to embrace a notice of 
it in this report. It is of comparatively recent origin ; is well 
developed in but one country in Europe; and hence occupies 
but a small space, which is altogether insignificant when com- 
pared with the principles embraced. The elementary and se- 
condary periods are those which the limits of age fixed by the 
will of Mr. Girard would indicate as especially embraced in our 
course of education. A portion of that of superior instruction 
is, however, included within them, especially, according to the 



INTRODUCTIOPi. 155 

educational arrangements common in the United States. This 
grade of education, as given in Europe, has two distinct objects. 
The first is, an introduction to the learned professions; the se- 
cond, to the higher occupations in llie arts, manufactures, and 
commerce. The first kind of instruction is given in the univer- 
sities, and, in general, the universities of Great Britain forming 
the exception, the studies are of a professional character or ten- 
dency. For this, and other reasons, more fully developed in 
the remarks introductory to the chapter on superior education, 
I have chiefly confined myself to the schools of the second divi- 
sion of this grade. 

In submitting, then, the view of the different periods of edu- 
cation, to which the remainder of this Report is principally de- 
voted, I shall take them up in the succession already mentioned, 
preceding each by a statement of the order in which the dif- 
ferent countries are treated, and with such remarks as may 
seem necessary, by way of introduction. As it would have 
been manifestly impossible to give an account of general edu- 
cation in all the countries I visited, within the limits appro- 
priate to a report, I have selected in each period, those which 
appeared to me most important as examples, making such re- 
marks as a view of the whole ground has suggested, and oc- 
casionally instituting direct comparisons. Following out the 
same principle, I have not undertaken to give an account of all 
the schools I visited ; but have confined my Report to such as 
seemed best calculated to serve as types of different classes of 
institutions. 

After brief notices of certain infant schools, elementary in- 
struction is considered under two heads: the first, embracing 
the schools for general purposes, the second, those intended for 
special training, as for the education of a rural or industrial popu- 
lation, and of teachers for the elementary schools. Under the 
former head will be given a notice of the provisions for elemen- 
tary instruction in Great Britain; a notice of the primary public 
instruction in France; a more particular description of the pri- 
mary system of Holland, and of some schools which illustrate its 
application; a history and general sketch of the Prussian system, 
with detailed descriptions and notices of several prominent 



156 PUBLIC INSTRUCTION IN GENERAL. 

schools; a notice of the system of primary instruction in Sax- 
ony, and of some of the schools, and an account of the method 
applied in the schools of Bayreuth, in Bavaria. The second 
division of primary instruction will comprehend descriptions of 
certain rural schools of Switzerland and Great Britain, an indus- 
trial primary school of France, and of some of the schools for 
primary teachers in Prussia, France, Holland, and Switzerland. 

Passing to the head of secondary instruction, the Report will 
include descriptions and notices of schools in Great Britain, 
France, Prussia, and Saxony ; each chapter being devoted to 
a separate country, and preceded by general introductory 
remarks. I have ventured to propose a subdivision of this 
head, which appears to me borne out by reason, and by the 
present state of facts in regard to education; the argument in 
reference to it will be found among the matter introductory to 
that division of the Report. 

In some countries it would appear, from the nature of their 
institutions, to be assumed that there is but one way of forming 
character, and of training the faculties of the mind, and that by 
this way all, if they are to be educated, must pass, whatever 
their occupation in after life. In others, a diversity in the me- 
thods of training appears to be admitted. In the first, if it be 
not the lot of the individual to remain sufficiently long under 
education to master the entire scholastic course, he is expected 
at least to possess a fragment of it. In the second, fragmentary 
education is not admitted; but according to the time the indi- 
vidual may have to dispose of before entering active life, his 
course of education is directed; and as this cannot be accurately 
known in early life, the different paths diverge at first slowly, 
to render a passage from one to the other easy. Examples will 
be furnished of both these systems ; and, if I mistake not, it will be 
seen that the second, while its theory commends itself to reason, 
is, at the same time, entirely practii^able. 

Under the division of Superior Instruction will be given de- 
scriptions of some special schools for the arts, manufactures, 
and commerce of France, Prussia, and Austria, and tlie higher 
agricultural school of Wirtemburgh. besides brief notices of 
a few other similar institutions. 



INFANT SCHOOLS. 157 



CHAPTER I. 



INFANT SCHOOLS. 

As the pupils of the Girard College cannot be admitted before 
the age of six, they are past the infant period, and thus it may- 
be supposed that I am departing from the rule which I have 
beeji obliged to lay down, in order to confine my Report within 
reasonable bounds. I am so fully impressed, however, with the 
importance of infant education, that I would not feel justified 
in passing over the period without a brief notice. The infant 
school system embraces so much of the philosophy of educa- 
tion, has been made so entirely an inductive branch, has been 
pondered over by so many minds of a superior order, that we 
cannot fail to derive advantage from a consideration of some of 
its principles and practical results. I am persuaded, that from 
the quarter of infant school instruction will one day come the 
reform of the English juvenile schools, and indeed this reform 
has already commenced, in the instance of the Juvenile Model 
School of Glasgow, and must extend widely, by the influence 
of its school for teachers. 

The infant school system seems to have originated about the 
same time in Great Britain and Switzerland. In the former 
country, the first idea has been steadily improved upon, and 
there also it is now best carried out. Oberlin, the pastor of 
Steinthal (Ban de la Roche), collected the younger children of 
the poor of his parish into schools, where a female superin- 
tendent taught them spinning or knitting, and at intervals a little 
geography, from a Map of Steinthal and its Environs, or, by the 
help of pictures, a portion of Bible or natural history. About 
the same time, the children of the workmen in Mr. Owen's ex- 
tensive manufacturing establishments, at New Lanark, were 
collected in schools, for the purpose of healthful recreation, and 
of due care and of a certain degree of intellectual instruction ; 
and, subsequently, a similar establishment was commenced by 
Lord Brougham, in Westminster. Mr. Wilderspin must, how- 



158 GENERAL EDUCATION. INFANT PERIOD. 

ever, be considered as the author of the infant school as it now 
exists, having, in his connexion with a proposed asylum in another 
part of London, first proposed the name, defined the age, and 
established the true principles of infant education. 

It is mainly by his instrumentality tliat the present system is 
now diffused so extensively over Great Britain. Of this system 
the infant schools of Liverpool, which he was engaged to re- 
form, offered me an example fjr inspection, though not of the 
most favourable kind. The model infant schools of Glasgow, 
Edinburgh, and London, are improvements on the system, pre- 
senting marked varieties: that in London being derived, how- 
ever, from the Glasgow model. 

The necessity for the existence of such schools must vary 
much in different countries, and hence their not being adopted 
in all is no argument against the general principle of infant edu- 
cation. The want of such schools is most felt in a dense and 
manufacturing population, least in a scattered and agricultural 
one. Independently of essentially different degrees of usefulness, 
under diflercnt circumstances, various prejudices have concurred 
to prevent the introduction of these schools into some countries. 
Certain governmen-ts, as those of Germany in general, have not 
lent their influence to them, and the clergy have, in some parts 
of Europe, been as warmly opposed to them as in others they 
have been their friends. The deformed models which have been 
transplanted from England to other countries, have tended in 
many cases to foster these prejudices. In some of these the in- 
tellectual development of the pupils has been attempted to be 
carried on to their manifest injury, physically and mentally. 
In others, a mere mechanical and lifeless routine has been fol- 
lowed. The infant schools which I saw at Paris, called " ecoles 
d'asile," seem to me to educate upon wrong principles, having 
adopted the mechanical arrangements of the English infant 
schools, without having seized their spirit. I believe, that de- 
priving them of the female superintendence which they formerly 
enjoyed, to make them a part of the government system, will 
react further very injuriously upon them. 

In some of the cities of Holland, as Rotterdam, Amsterdam, 
and Zwolle, I saw good infant schools. In the capital of 



GLASGOW MODEL INFANT SCHOOL. 159 

Prussia they are beginning to take permanent root. In Aus- 
tria Proper, their condition is rather languishing, but in the 
Italian provinces they are deemed most important means of 
ultimately efiecting a great change in the character of the peo- 
ple. At Venice the establishment is fostered by the government 
and liked by the people. At Milan is an admirable institution, 
growing out of that founded at Cremona, by the Abbe d'Apos- 
ti, who first introduced these schools into Italy. In Lombardy 
and Venice the schools are under the control of a society. 

The best infant schools which I visited were decidedly those 
of Glasgow, Edinburgh, and London. The system of the infant 
schools of Lombardy, as I saw it at Milan, comes next to the 
English model, but is comparatively too verbal and precise, 
dealing too little with realities.* I propose to give an account 
of the school at Glasgow, and merely a notice of those at 
Edinburgh and Gray's Inn Road, London, that I may not be 
supposed to dwell unnecessarily upon the subject. 

Model Infant School of the Glasgow Education Society. 
This is the first of the schools of the Glasgow Education 
Society, and was founded in 1826. At my visit in 1836, it 
contained two hundred pupils, and the success of the society 
had been such as to induce the erection of new buildings to 
contain their infant, juvenile, normal, and other schools.f 

The principles of the system of education in this school are, 
first, that the corporal, intellectual, and moral nature of its 
pupils, is to be improved. Second, that this is to be done by in- 
culcating good principles, and training to the practice of them. 
Third, that to render such training effectual, the nature of the 
individual to be educated must be studied. In a day-school like 

* I am indebted to the Marquis of Beccaiia, one of the most strenuous friends 
of infant schools in Lombardy, for an account of the foundation and actual con- 
dition of the asylums of charity at Milan, in 1837, and the "Manual of Educa- 
tion and Administration of Infant Schools," by the Rev. Abbe d'Aposti, and a 
"Guide for the Founders and Directors of Infant Charity Schools, derived from 
the Practice in the Infant Schools of Cremona." Milan, 1836. 

t I am particularly indebted, for the opportunities of freely visiting the schools 
of this society to the intelligent secretary, David Stow, Esq., author of Stow's 
System of Moral Training and of the Training System Adopted in the Model 
Schools of tho Glasgow Education Society, &c. 



160 OENEaAL EDUCATION. INFANT PERIOD. 

this one, for example, corporal training would include the acqui- 
sition of proper habits of walking, sitting, standing, holding a 
book or slate, which, with manners, cleanliness, and a variety 
of others, will naturally suggest themselves. Intellectual train- 
ing exercises the observing, perceiving, knowing, and reasoning 
faculties in a due degree, and here the art of the teacher is exer- 
cised mainly to judge how far he shall offer food to these. And 
so also of the moral and religious. It is frequently forgotten that 
the amelioration of the heart should precede that of the head, and 
moral and physical development are sacrificed to intellectual.* 
Not so in this school. Its peculiar characteristic may be con- 
sidered, the great stress which it lays upon the daily use of 
the Bible, as a means of both moral and intellectual training, 
and the constant preference given to such exercises as may be 
connected with it over all others. I subjoin, in the Appendix, 
(No. IX.,) an example of a Bible lesson, to illustrate my mean- 
ing in asserting the connexion of various intellectual exercises 
with its lessons. In Wilderspin's system there were twenty- 
four Bible lessons, selected with a view to avoid any of the 
points on which sects of Christians differ; in this there is a les- 
son for each day in the year, giving the variety which the 
other system wants, but at the expense, in part, of simplicity. 

The mechanical arrangements of the school are, first, the 
school-room, with its platforms as usual raised in steps, called the 
gallery, occupying a considerable part of the breadth of the room. 
Second, the lesson-posts and forms, where the little classes as- 
semble under their monitors. Third, the detached room, where 
the master may retire with a class. Fourth, the play-ground, 
with its implements for exercise and amusement, its flowers 
and fruits. The school-room is but tolerably well ventilated, 
though, no doubt, this will be remedied in a house built ex- 
pressly for the purposes of the school. It is hung round with 

* The abuse of intellectual development is nowhere more admirably set forth 
than in the treatise by our countryman, A. Brigham, M. D., which has been re- 
publislied in England, and is considered a standard work on the subject. An- 
other of our countrymen, Mr. Abbott, stands high as authority in relation to in- 
fant culture. 



GLASGOW MODEL INFANT SCHOOL. 161 

boards, on whicli, in large letters, aie inscribed words or reli- 
gious sentiments, or on which are pictures of animals, &c. 
The raised platform, in steps of due height, and where both 
boys and girls* are seated, combines many advantages; it ena- 
bles the teacher distinctly to see every pupil, and in turn the 
pupils to see the master and each other. Thus the power of 
imitation and sympathy, which play so great a part in edu- 
cation, are brought to bear under the most advantageous cir- 
cumstances. 

It is in this gallery that the most important exercises are 
given. The school opens with a short prayer, adapted to the 
comprehension of the children, order being first secured, if there 
are untrained pupils among them, by the aid of short physical 
exercises, raising and lowering the hands, rising and sitting 
down, and so on — such exercises never failing to produce this 
result. The children assembled here listen to the Bible lesson, 
the master occupying the front and centre of the little assem- 
blage, with the Bible-stand to support his book, and by its side 
the whistle and bell, which are to convey signals, intended to 
secure prompt obedience. The lesson having been read, it is 
broken up into detached parts. The simple ones afford matter 
for direct questions, or the children are led to understand them 
by other prelitninary questions, proceeding always from the 
known to the unknown. Replies from many are secured by 
the elliptical form of answer, in which the master leaves a 
simple but emphatic word, or part of a word, to be supplied. 
These are impressed upon all by a repetition of the ellipsis, 
the filling up of which all have now caught from those who 
first supplied it, and finally the whole answer is repeated. 
The Bible lesson is frequently one of civil or natural history 
and geography. Simplicity in question is the desideratum in 
this and other exercises. The master must descend to the 
level of the child, or he effects nothing. Singing a hymn, or 
physical exercises, or the inspection which ensures cleanliness, 

* It is considered most important to infant training that both boys and girla 
should be united in a class under a master snd mistrese. 

■31 



163 GENERAL EDUCATION. INFANT PERIOD. 

will vary this course, and above all, care must be taken that 
the attention of the children is kept up. If this fails, it is the 
master himself who fails. A principle which, if at all admitted, 
in more advanced education, does not occupy the place which 
it deserves. 

The gallery serves also for the lessons on objects, or pictures 
of objects, where simple specimens from the animal, vegetable, 
and mineral kingdom, or of artificial productions, are made the 
subjects of actual examination or of description. Their proper- 
ties, as far as may be, are observed by the children, led by the 
master, who directs their feeble perceptions. Words to express 
their ideas are furnished, when the want of these words is felt. 
With those somewhat advanced, the printed or written word 
is shown and imitated on the slate. 

At an earlier period the letter which begins the word is se- 
lected from a series of large brass letters, cut out for this pur- 
pose, and is held before the pupil, and its name or its most 
common sound in combination given. A word beginning with 
the same letter is suggested by a pupil, another and another 
may be written on the board and copied, and all or any of 
them may be made the subject of instructive exercise. 

At a later day the exercise of practical grammar, which will 
be explained when speaking of the juvenile school, is added. 
When places are spoken of, objects or pictures are shown in 
connexion with them. The children are in the gallery also 
during their arithmetic lessons, when the ball frame, so well 
known in all infant schools, is substituted for the Bible-stand, 
and the teacher gives his lessons by question and answer ellip- 
tically, by teaching a song in which the ellipsis of a word occurs 
in each line, or by the pupils singing simple songs already 
learned. These impress the easy operations of infant arithmetic 
powerfully upon the memory. The eye and ear are thus im- 
proving with the intellect, or the eye is exercised by the deter- 
mination of angles by the jointed instrument, called a goni- 
graph, or by geometrical figures. The children are also in the 
gallery when hearing from the master a story, embodying cir- 
cumstances of a moral tendency, or calculated to instruct or 
amuse, or to arouse curiosity. This is one of the exercises 



GLASGOW MODEL INrANT SCHOOL. 163 

they are most fond of, and which, if the master be apt, may- 
be made as useful as any. The characters of the great and 
the good may be brought before them, their feelings interested, 
and thus early elevated, their patriotism excited, and evil ten- 
dencies repressed. It is the peculiar feature of this school to 
draw such stories often from the sacred volume, and in general, 
as an illustration of how attractive these may be rendered, it 
may be stated, that when left to choose the kind of story they 
will have, the children prefer a Bible history to any other. 
These various exercises of course are not continuous, nor do 
they even occur, sometimes, on the same day, and each of them 
is interrupted frequently for exercise, especially with untrained 
children. 

The elliptical method* spoken of is to omit the last or some 
important word of a sentence, taking care that it is one easily sup- 
plied by the children, and which leaves the sentence plainly im- 
perfect until it is given. Thus the children are engaged in a kind of 
conversation with the teacher, interesting to them because they 
are parties in it, and watching keenly the sentence, that they 
may seize the wanting word. In the ellipsis used in this school, 
the first sounds of a word are frequently supplied, requiring the 
little assembly to suggest the rest. I observed a great differ- 
ence in the facility with which the children supplied the ellipsis 
of their master, by whom they were in the habit of being ques- 
tioned, and that of others by whom they were addressed, but 
found that it arose, generally, from the too great rapidity of the 
uninitiated teachers, by which they did not allow the children 
time to think and to answer. This explanation supposes the 
ellipsis well contrived. The method of responses is frequently 
varied, by inducing some one or more of the children to ask 
questions of the class, two or more of each other, or one or more 
to volunteer to be questioned by the class. From the whole 
of this method, emulation as a principle is excluded, it is not 
needed, and indeed it is truly held that it would be pernicious. 

* This method is stated to have been first announced by Dr. Borthwick Gil- 
christ, in his lectures on Oriental literature. It was adopted early by Mr. Wil- 
dcrspin. 



164 GEXERAL EDUCATION. INFANT PERIOD. 

I was surprised, in witnessing some of these exercises, at the 
accuracy with wiiich the children slated their questions, result- 
ing entirely from tlie imitation of the perspicuous style of the 
master.* On the subject of imitative powers at this early age, 
many facts might be brought together; one struck me so much 
that I mention it here. 1 never visited an infant school in which 
the voice of the master or mistress was agreeable in singing, 
without finding melody among the children, and vice versa. It 
is recorded in this school that nearly all the children learn to 
sing agreeably. 

The passage fi'om the gallery to the lesson posts is performed 
while singing, and always in regular order. Sometimes an 
interval of out or in-door exercise separates the lessons. The 
monitors are chosen by the master, or offer themselves by the 
holding up of hands, when he calls for it, before the children 
leave the gallery. Each monitor has a class of half a dozen 
or more, to whom he explains the picture suspended upon their 
particular reading-post, and the letters or words beneath it. 
The classes change posts, after a reasonable interval, and the 
monitor has a new set to drill. Such teaching is not to be 
expected to be efficient, but it nevertheless answers a good 
purpose at this age. The lesson-posts are arranged so that the 
board on which the lesson is pasted may be readily changed, 
and so that its height may be varied to suit the size of the 
pupils receiving the lesson. The boards are covered with co- 
loured prints of animals, representations of trades, of costumes, 
&c. No formal attempt is made to teach reading, but it is 
found without it that the children insensibly learn to read. A 
useful exercise for the more advanced children, requiring study 
at home, and which also frequently excites the attention of pa- 
rents, is to give them cards, with questions relating to natural 
history &-c., to be answered on a subsequent day. The answers 
are sometimes required from particular parts of the Bible. 

Behind the gallery are the places for hanging the caps and 
cloaks of the children, which they are trained to put off and 

* Mr. David Caugliy, whose wife is his assistant in the school. 



GLASGOW MODEL INFANT SCHOOL. 165 

to take again in an orderly manner. The detached room en- 
ables a master to hear any class which he may wish, apart 
from the others, the mistress meanwhile superintending the 
school, or to teach the monitors, or furnishes a place for the 
noon luncheon, which many of the childi'en bring with them. 

The play-ground in the system of this school is considered the 
"uncovered school-room," the true place for moral training, 
where the principles inculcated within are to be carried into 
practice, and where the tempers and dispositions show them- 
selves more fully, in unrestrained intercourse, than in the school. 
There is in it a circular swing* for exercise, wooden prisms 
in the proportions of bricks, for amusement, and flowers and 
fruits, to train them to respect the goods of others and of the 
public. 

The master is constantly with, or overlooking them, some- 
times mixing in their sports, or showing them new or amusing 
games, and always attentive to their development of character, 
but unless in extraordinary cases, his interference is not neces- 
sary. The benevolence of some children prevents or remedies 
the accidents incident to their pla3's, and justice insures a tole- 
rably equal share of the sports. When a fault is committed, it 
is noticed after the assembling of the children in the gallery, 
where the public opinion of his equals in age is brought to bear 
upon the offender by a judicious series of questions from the 
master, without, however, making the punishment a public one, 
by directly designating the individual who is under censure. 
Punishments in or out of school are adapted to the tender age 
of the child, and addressed to his peculiar temperament. Cor- 
poral punishment, even of the mildest kind, is seldom found ne- 
cessary. 

* This consists of a mast or post, about eighteen feetliigh, on the top of which 
is a plate of iron, movable upon a pin of the same material, fastened into the post. 
Four ropes hang from this plate, and each has knots or sticks across it, at heights 
suitable to the size of the children, who are to grasp them. These ropes being 
seized, the children run round, keeping them fully stretched. The motion soon 
produces a sufficient centrifugal force to take tlicm off their feet. If a child lets 
go of the rope, he is carried beyond the circle where the others would touch him 
in their course round. 



166 GENERAL EDUCATION. INFANT PERIOD. 

When the play-groimd cannot be used, the want is supplied, 
as far as possible, by games within doors, which are, however, 
very imperfect substitutes for those in the open air. 

SCHOOL OF THE EDINBURGH INFANT SCHOOL SOCIETY. 

This establishment was founded by the Edinburgh Infant 
School Society, in 1829, subsequently to that of Glasgow, and 
upon principles of education very similar to those of the Glasgow 
Model School. The necessity of combining moral with intel- 
lectual training is especially insisted upon here as in the other, 
and the same importance is attached to physical training. The 
same use is made of the play-ground as in the Glasgow school, 
and with similar efficacy as to the bodily and moral improve- 
ment of the children. The system of Wilderspin was at the 
outset the guide of both. 

The general principles which regulate the establishment of a 
school, however closely it may be the intention of the teacher to 
follow them, will always receive a modifying impress from his 
own peculiar views and qualities. Thus, while intellectual edu- 
cation is declared to be a secondary object here, the amount of 
actual attainment by the pupil is much greater than at Glasgow, 
from the circumstance that the turn of the master's mind is con- 
stantly towards inventing ways of simplifying the mode of in- 
struction. Some part of the time occupied in the other school 
in religious training is spent in this in intellectual, and the chil- 
dren leave it, having advanced so far as to read, spell, and parse, 
and having a knowledge of the elements of geography, history, 
and arithmetic, with the properties of various objects, &.c. The 
season at which I visited the school, the winter, was unfavour- 
able to a judgment of the physical education, but the appear- 
ance of the children indicated that it was good. The moral re- 
sults appear from published documents highly satisfactory, and 
the intellectual struck me as perhaps even too high; a correct 
decision, however, on this important question would require 
more time for observation than 1 had to bestow, especially from 
the fact which I have before remarked, that the talent of the 



INFANT SCHOOL SOCIETY OF LOxXDON. 167 

master* particularly showed itself in intellectual training. His 
multiplied means of addressing instruction through the eye, the 
products in great part of his own ingenuity in devising and skill in 
executing, were very remarkable; added to which he had thrown 
many subjects into the form of games, rendering them attrac- 
tive to the children. Among the former were the progressive 
maps of travel for infant geography, the historical maps, with 
picture illustrations, the illustrated grammar exercises, the ex- 
ercises in measures and weights, and in Arabic and Roman nu- 
merals, all illustrated by ingenious and perspicuous diagrams. 
I was also particularly pleased with a series of moral training 
lessons, which, beginning with a statement of what the school 
should be, provides rules for attaining this condition, and rea- 
sons for the rules; precepts in regard to the virtues, and re- 
marks upon faults to be avoided. 

This school has had as many as one hundred and sixty pu- 
pils, and the general attendance averages about one hundred 
and twenty. The mixed system of lessons in the gallery, and 
of monitors for the classes, is used in it as at Glasgow, and the 
other general arrangements are also much the same in the two 
schools. 

SCHOOL OF THE HOME AND COLONIAL INFANT SCHOOL 
SOCIETY OF LONDON. 

"The Home and Colonial Infant School Society" was insti- 
tuted in 1836, to promote the cause of infant education, by point- 
ing out to the public the indispensable qualifications of teachers, 
by providing an establishment where teachers might be received 
and their acquirements put to the test and improved, and by pub- 
lishing lectures, lessons, manuals, and other appropriate works.f 
To carry out the second part of this undertaking, the society 
found a model infant school absolutely necessary. The teachers 

* Mr. Milne, who has his wife for his assistant in the school. 

t The society has been fortunate in securing the assistance of some of the 
most distinguished friends of education in their enterprise, as Doctor and Miss 
Mayo, of London, Dr. Bryce, of Belfast, &lc. Dr. Mayo is well known as the 
principal of a Festalozzian school at Cheam, in Surrey. 



168 GENERAL EDUCATION. INFANT PERIOD. 

were instructed in the principles of their art, but as the schools 
which they visited did not exemplify these principles, they were 
not trained in the practice of them, and hence, in many cases, 
their career did not justify the expectations of the society. 

The model infant school established by this society is upon 
the enlightened plan which I have already described, the 
teacher having been trained in the Normal school at Glasgow; 
but it partakes, in a considerable degree, of the peculiarities 
of the Edinburgh school. Thus, in religious instruction, its 
aim is to avoid such matter as shall be objectionable to any 
denomination of Christians, and it carries intellectual education 
further than its Glasgow model. It is true, indeed, that in the re- 
cent official work* on infant education issued by the society, a 
part of the instruction actually given, namely, teaching to read, 
is not spoken of with special approbation, but rather as a yield- 
ing to the supposed prejudices of parents. The method itself 
draws strong encomiums from the managers of the society, 
and will be found described in the Appendix to this Report, 
(No. X.)t I was particularly pleased with the lessons given 
in sensible objects, and the incidental exercises of orthography 
to which they led. The pictures used are a decided improve- 
ment on those commonly employed, but a difficulty in their use 
has been discovered, from the very precise ideas which the 
child attaches to them, by which truth appears to be violated, 
when the same subject is illustrated diffiirently in two pictures. 
It has been found possible to overcome this difficulty, in a 
degree, by impressing upon the child that these pictures are 
merely general illustrations, and not precise representations of 
events which the artist has witnessed. 

The small play-ground here is better furnished with the means 
of infant gymnastic exercises than that of Glasgow, but is by 
no means commodious. 

» Practical Remarks on Infant Education, by the Rev. Dr. Mayo and Miss 
Mayo. It is interesting to see, in this work, how admirably the natural method 
of instruction by Pestalozzi adapts itself to the infant school. 

t It is entitled "Reading Disentangled," and is divided into twenty-seven 
lessons. ' 



INFANT SCHOOL SOCIETY OF LONDON. 169 

The teachers who are in training receive theoretical lessons, 
attend the practice of the school, are employed to teach 
small classes in separate rooms, under superintendence, and, 
finally, practice with the entire class. The course for teachers 
is, as yet, however, of too limited a duration, being only three 
months; but it is proposed to extend it when further means of 
reducing the cost of the maintenance of the pupil-teachers shall 
be afforded. 



22 



170 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 



CHAPTER 11. 

ELEMENTARY OR PRIMARY EDUCATION. 

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 

Elementary education may be considered in two points of 
view, both of great importance: as the sole education of the 
mass of tiie community, or as leading to higher instruction. 
In the former view, it requires to be complete, as a whole; in 
the latter, it is essentially preparatory. In reference to each, 
its character is materially different. In our country at large, 
we have been necessarily more occupied with creating com- 
mon schools, than with elevating the standard of the instruction 
given in them. In the meantime, education has been advanc- 
ing; and, unless we would be untrue to ourselves and to our 
political institutions, we must gather experience wherever it is 
to be found, and apply those practical results which are best 
adapted to our circumstances. In Hke manner, on the more 
limited field of the Girard College, we must raise our system 
upon the basis of the successful experiments of others, unless 
we would encounter the vexations incident to the acquisition of 
experience by our own failures. 

The importance of primary instruction in both these refer- 
ences, has induced me to extend this notice of its present con- 
dition to a considerable number of countries, and to multiply 
the examples illustrative of the systems, where the schools are in 
a flourishing condition. 

It happens, and I believe unfortunately for us, that the ele- 
mentary schools of Great Britain are, in general, behind those 
of other countries of Europe with which we are less con- 
nected. Desultory, and sometimes conflicting, efforts at im- 
provement have not made an impression proportioned to the 
wants of the people of that country, and have left them behind 
others, who have much less need of cultivated intelligence to 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 171 

enable them to fufil the duties of citizens. Through the me- 
dium of schools for teachers, the importance of which is now 
recognised, the same rapid reforms may, however, be worked 
there, as have been effected in some countries on the continent. 
It will be found that, at present, I have been obliged to draw 
my examples of the schools for popular instruction in Great 
Britain from Scotland exclusively, but descriptions of depart- 
ments for primary instruction will be found in some of the 
notices of secondary schools of other parts of the country. 

Although the primary schools of France are not yet, in gene- 
ral, upon a level with those of Holland and Prussia, I have 
appended a brief notice of the system and progress of public 
instruction there. The view affords great encouragement, by 
showing how much may be realized by judicious laws, and in 
a well-arranged system of inspection. A rapid improvement in 
the schools in general will, no doubt, result from the operation 
of the normal schools. 

The system of primary instruction in Holland is particularly 
interesting to an American, from its organization in an ascend- 
ing series ; beginning with the local school authorities, and ter- 
minating, after progressive degrees of representation, as it 
were, in the highest authority; instead of emanating, as in the 
centralized systems, from that authority. A fair trial has been 
given to a system of inspection which is almost entirely ap- 
plicable to our country, and which has succeeded with them. 
They have tried an important experiment, in communicating 
religious without sectarian instruction; another, which has 
resulted in demonstrating the necessity of special schools for 
teachers; and another, entirely unfavourable to the system of 
mutual instruction. I have enlarged, therefore, upon the gene- 
ral account of their system of public instruction, and have 
given rather a general notice of the schools, than of any one in 
particular. I have, however, made one of the schools for the 
poor, which seemed to me superior even to those of the same 
class in Prussia, the subject of special description and remark. 
The account in reference to Holland is followed by that of 
the Prussian system and schools. This is the most perfect of 



172 GENERAL EDUCATIOJf. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

the centralized systems, allowing considerable latitude in the 
arrangement of the individual schools, while all are subject to the 
influence of the central authority. It has not, as is commonly 
supposed, recently sprung into existence, but has been the work 
of time, has been altered and amended, and is still in progress. 
Its present condition is the result of experience, and thus it com- 
mends itself to enlightened imitation, by which I mean that 
which, laying aside what is inapplicable to the political or social 
institutions of the country adopting it, would employ the large 
amount of useful material which it contains. The schools contain 
much more that is applicable to our country than the system in 
general, and hence I have enlarged upon them, particularly upon 
the higher class of primary schools, which seem to me in better 
condition than those of any other of the larger European states. 
It is in what may be called the incidental parts of instruction, 
and which do not appear upon paper; in the spirit of the teacher, 
and sometimes in that of the books; that the peculiarities of na- 
tional organization in these schools are chiefly to be found. 

The chapter on Prussia is followed by a notice of the schools 
of Saxony, and by an account of the excellent higher primary 
school, or Burgher School of Leipsic. The Model Primary 
School of Frankfort on Maine is described in the same chapter. 
The necessity of confining myself within limits has alone pre- 
vented me from giving an account of some of the schools of 
Weimar, of Nassau, and of Switzerland. 

The Bavarian schools, according to Graser's method, follow 
in the chapter succeeding Saxony. I have omitted mention of 
the others, as throwing no new light upon the subject. This is 
true also of the Austrian primary schools. These latter are 
chiefly characterized by a spirit of system, which exactly regu- 
lates the method and amount of what is to be taught, and when 
it shall be taught, throughout this vast empire. The mode of 
educating teachers tends to give them rather the routine than 
the spirit of their profession. My remarks apply to Austria 
Proper, and have no reference to the number, but to the general 
character of the schools. I was most favourably impressed with 
the earnest efforts making in the Italian provinces of Austria to 



mTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 173 

spread primary instruction, an important measure where the 
schools have been so much neglected. 

In the notices introductory to the description of schools in the 
different countries, I have endeavoured to give an outline of the 
organization of public instruction, of the regulations upon which 
it is founded, and of the mode of supplying teachers. The va- 
rieties in the schools are represented by some of the best which 
I visited, and of these I have given a more or less minute ac- 
count, as the subject seemed to require, endeavouring, as in the 
former part of the Report, rather to notice pecuharities and dif- 
ferences than to repeat the same details in every case. In ge- 
neral, however, as before, the history and purpose of the school 
is first given, then its organization and government, then the 
admission and dismission of pupils, then the moral, intellectual, 
and physical education which it provides are discussed, and 
comparisons drawn between it and other similar institutions. 
These are interspersed with such remarks as reflection upon 
the subject may have suggested. 

Besides the class of general primary schools, others which 
may be considered as of a special character have been planned, 
by which, while pursuing the studies of the elementary period, 
the individual is, at the same time, trained for his calling in after 
life. Such are the rural schools of Swhzerland, which have also 
been transplanted to England and Ireland, and the manufac- 
turing and industrial schools of France. I have placed this class 
in a separate chapter, and described, in turn, two of the rural 
schools of Switzerland, one of Ireland, one of a mixed rural and 
industrial character in England, and one industrial school of 
France. 

I have preferred, for the sake of a better comparison of the 
seminaries for teachers, sometimes called normal schools, to 
place those of different countries together, and they will accord- 
ingly be found in a separate chapter, after those containing an 
account of the primary schools. The seminaries of Prussia are 
placed first, then those of France, and lastly, a notice is given 
of one of the normal schools of Holland and of Switzerland. 



174 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

These notices will terminate the division of my Report relating 
to primary sciiools. 

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 

Until lately, the only part of Great Britain which had the 
advantages of a system of public elementary instruction, was 
Scotland. In England the establishment of schools has been 
left to private enterprise or charity, or religious zeal and libe- 
rahty, assisted, but not efficicnth^ by appropriations from Par- 
liament. The schools for the instruction of the people during 
week days are still miserably deficient, both in number and 
kind, and as yet there appears no prospect of concert of effort 
to bring about a better state of general education. The exer- 
tions which have produced here and there endowed schools, 
factory schools, schools of industry, schools for paupers or for 
adults, though of course highly commendable, can lead to no 
general system of national education; and the same may be 
remarked of Sunday schools, however good and useful in their 
particular way. In no country in Europe, I believe, is so much 
benevolent effort to be met with as in Great Britain, and could 
it be directed in concert, it is capable of the highest results. The 
two associations which have done most for general elementary 
instruction are the " British and Foreign School Society," es- 
tablished in 1805, to aid in extending the system proposed by 
Joseph Lancaster, and the "National Society for Promoting 
the Education of the Poor on the Principles of the Established 
Church, throughout England and Wales," founded in 1811, 
to disseminate the system of Dr. Bell. With the different prin- 
ciples of action of these societies I have nothing to do in this 
place. I visited schools in connexion with both, or following 
their methods, and as might have been expected, found their 
model schools established in London, in general, the best speci- 
mens of their views. 

The model school of the first named society in the Borough- 
road, is under the charge of an enlightened teacher,* who has 

* Mr. S. C. 09sk'v. 



ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 175 

done much to improve the Lancastrian method, by rendering 
it less mechanical, infusing a more intellectual character into its 
exercises, and adding new branches of instruction.* The suc- 
cess is limited, however, by the capacity of the method itself, 
and I cannot hold up even this improved form of it as a model 
for imitation. The results produced at a public examination 
pleased me very much, but these were, in fact, in great part, 
consequences of the master's instruction, and of the very 
superior intelligence of a few pupils. To judge of the effect 
upon the whole school, it should be visited in working-hours, 
and especially when the classes are under their monitors, who 
carry on the principal business of teaching. The humble cha- 
racter of the intellectual and moral teaching belonging to the 
system of mutual instruction is then fully visible. While I esti- 
mate highly the good which this society has done by establish- 
ing schools when there were none, I do not find it necessary to 
describe the particulars of their method of instruction. The 
model school of the National Society did not come up to the 
example of the modified Bell system, already presented in the 
Liverpool Blue-coat School. The system of mutual instruction 
belongs to a very unadvanced grade of public education, and 
in which the means of procuring or compensating masters are 
limited. When large numbers of children must be collected in 
one school, or be destitute of instruction on account of limited 
means, then the method is the only one feasible, and ought to 
be encouraged. 

The society for the promotion of the education of the poor in 
Ireland, established in 1811, has been of essential service in that 
country. At first, they acted as a private body, but subsequently 
received a grant of money from the British Parliament. They 
have a model school in Dublin, and during the continuance of the 
government grant, educated a considerable number of teachers, 
published many cheap school-books, and works for lending-libra- 
ries. With them also originated, in its application to Ireland, 
the admirable system of regular school inspectors. This grant 

* Linear drawing and music are both cultivated. 



176 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

was withdrawn in 1831, which has rednced very essentially 
the scale of their operations. 

The Board of National Education for Ireland was appointed 
in 1831, and is intended as the head of a government system 
of elementary instruction for the population of the whole island. 
This Board has not only greatly increased the number of ele- 
mentary schools, and supplied new text-books, but has estab- 
lished, on a considerable scale, a seminary where the future 
teacher is first instructed in the elementary branches in which 
he may be deficient, and then is furnished with the principles 
of education, and an opportunity to reduce them to practice, 
under superintendence, in model schools. At the time of my 
visit to Dublin, these schools were in the course of organization 
in a new building, erected specially for them. The appoint- 
ment of school-inspectors, a practice followed up by this Board, 
is no doubt one of its most important measures, affording, as 
it does, in connexion with the control of pecuniary supplies, 
the means of continual improvement in the individual schools. 

The system of parochial schools in Scotland was established 
a century and a-half ago, by an act of the Scottish Parliament. 
This act provided for the existence of a school in each parish, 
for the manner of election of the schoolmaster, and for his 
compensation, no mention being made of the branches required 
to be taught. The masters have been, in general, selected 
either from among candidates for the ecclesiastical profession, 
or such persons as could not pursue the requisite studies far 
enough to reach the ministry, and from persons of the humble 
classes who were physically incompetent for trades, and endea- 
voured to secure the patronage and instruction necessary to 
obtain places as teachers. 

The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has the 
right of inspecting these schools, but not that of displacing 
their teachers, and hence the system is wanting in the means 
of improvement. It has, in fact, not kept pace with the general 
progress of the country, the schools being deficient both in 
number and quality. To remedy this, efforts have been made 
by the General Assembly and by benevolent individuals, by 



ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS OF GREAT BRITAIPT. 177 

the erection of new schools, and of model schools, by en- 
deavouring to improve the condition of the teachers, and by 
furnishing those who aspire to this profession the means of pro- 
per training in their art. The sessional school* of Edinburgh 
has opened its doors to persons wishing to procure practical 
knowledge in teaching, and more lately the Normal Seminary of 
Glasgow for training Teachers has been established and taken 
under the patronage of the Education Committee of the General 
Assembly.^ 

The instruction in the parochial schools is generally confined 
to reading, writing, and cyphering. Occasionally, in the higher 
schools, a little Latin is taught. The Bible and Catechism fre- 
quently constitute the text-books for reading. In some schools 
there are spelling-books, with selections of stories for children. 
The former collection of reading-lessons was absurd in the ex- 
treme as a book for children, consisting of extracts for the most 
part above their comprehension; it has been, howev^er, more 
recently replaced by a judicious selection. Most of the chil- 
dren who go to these schools are between the ages of six and 
twelve. 

Besides the parochial schools, there are, especially in the 
large towns, endowed schools, the state of instruction in which, 
at any given time, depends much upon the trustees into whose 
hands the endowment has fallen. The subscription and pri- 
vate schools have, in general, not been in advance of the others, 
and in many of the Highland schools, neither writing nor arith- 
metic are taught. 

It seems to be generally conceded that a great change is 
necessary in the character of popular instruction, but the nature 

* Schools under the charge of the ministers and elders, or church-session of a 
parish, are so called. 

t The petition of the Education Committee of the General Assembly of the 
Scottish Church to Parliament for aid, states, that in the Highlands alone there 
were, in 1833, eighty-three thousand three hundred and ninety-seven persons 
above six years of age who could neither read nor write, euid twenty -eight thou- 
sand between six and twenty years of age in this predicament. One-sixth of 
the population was thus without instruction, and means were wanting to provide 
them with schools. 

23 



178 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

of the change is the subject of much keen controversy, in regard 
to which I sliould be going out of my way to speak. 

The pubHc school which has produced the most important 
results in improving the state of elementary instruction in Scot- 
land, is the Sessional School of Edinburgh. The Juvenile IModel 
School at Glasgow* has been founded later, but its efiects are 
already felt. The elementary departments of the Madras Col- 
lege, at St. Andrews, have also contributed to the same object. 
After giving a description of these establishments, I shall con- 
clude this section with a notice of the Circus Place School at 
Edinburgh, intended to prepare pupils for the public or private 
classical schools, by the improved methods which the sessional 
school has made so well known in Scotland. The elementary 
teaching in the lower classes of the High School of Glasgow 
and of tiie Hill-street Institution of Edinburgh, ranks with the 
best which I saw, but I shall refer to it in speaking of the 
respective schools which belong to the secondary grade of in- 
struction. 

JUVENILE TRAINING-SCHOOL OF THE GLASGOW EDUCATION 

SOCIETY. 

This is the only attempt which I witnessed to cany the 
"training system" of the infant-school into the juvenile day- 
schools of Great Britain. The endeavour is made, under this 
system, not only to inculcate good principles, but also to form 
good iiabits — not only to teach, but to train. A child entering 
from the infant school is prepared for the instruction and disci- 
j)line of this; his education goes on in the same way and with 
the same spirit here as in the former school. Other children, 
entering at six, may have positively bad habits to eradicate. Ex- 
perience has proved, however, that they may be trained with the 
others, only at a greater cost of time and labour. In this sys- 
tem, as in the corresponding infant school system, the play- 



* In describing these scliools, I have given that of Glasgow the first place, 
because it is quite distinct from the others in its character, while tliey have 
general resemblances to each otlicr. 



JUVENILE TRAINING-SCHOOL AT GLASGOW. 179 

ground is the " uncovered school," and the moral training goes 
on in it; hence the pupils must necessarily be under the super- 
intendence of the master, who notices their aberrations with- 
out interfering, unless when absolutely necessary, and makes a 
school-room lesson of their conduct. The effective character 
of this training is proved by the fact that one hundred and 
eighty children of the lower classes of Glasgow were in the 
daily habit, for five months, of frequenting the play-ground of 
the school, without any injury to the borders planted with 
flowers, shrubs, and fruits. 

The designs of the Glasgow Educational Society include not 
only this school, but the infant school which has been described, 
and a normal seminary for the education of teachers. To aid 
in carrying out especially the latter part of the design, the rec- 
tor of the normal seminary made a tour on the continent, 
visiting the best seminaries of Prussia, and even attending a 
part of their courses. His return occurred just before my se- 
cond visit to Glasgow, and I had not, therefore, the benefit of 
seeing the fruits of his experience in the practice of the schools.* 

At present, the courses of the normal school are so restricted 
in point of time, from the limited means of the teachers who 
resort to it for instruction, that little more than a general 
idea of the system can be obtained by the pupils, and vigorous 
efforts were making to induce the government of Great Britain, 
and the wealthy of Glasgow, to contribute to the support of 
young men while in the school, and thus to enable them to re- 
main suiliciently long to become imbued with the spirit and 
practice of the methods of teaching. 

The course of instruction in the juvenile training-school is to 
be considered still in a great degree experimental, but the re- 
sults already obtained are of the most encouraging character. 

Intellectual and Moral Education. It is understood from my 
preface, that this school is intended to give an elementary educa- 



* Tlie Rev. John M'Crie, a young teacher of the highest promise, whose un- 
timely death has preventod the eareer of usrfiilness for whieh he had preprircd 
himself. 



180 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

tion to children between six and twelve or fourteen years of age. 
Contrived as an improvement on the Scottish parochial system, it 
supposes the means of procuring teachers to be small. Hence 
it places a large number, even as many as a hundred, under 
one teacher, adapts its arrangements to render his services as 
efficient as possible, and employs the more advanced pupils as 
monitors. Emanating from the Scottish Church, it inculcates 
its observances and doctrines, adopting a mode of imparting 
Christian truths which renders them eminently attractive. It 
seeks (and here I consider the system overstrained) to attach 
to the knowledge of the Bible all other branches, and thus to 
make it the medium by which a child shall not only learn mo- 
rals, but, in connexion with which he shall receive lessons in 
history, natural history and philosophy, geography, manners 
and customs, and grammar. The system discards, in a great 
degree, all use of books, and substitutes the lively oral method 
employed in the German schools. It requires the master to be 
thoroughly acquainted with the subjects he teaches, in order to 
be able to communicate them in the manner exactly suited to 
the different capacities of the pupils, which he is expected to 
study. The children are assembled here, as in the infant school, 
in the gallery, and, in general, the methods of communicating 
knowledge, or of drawing from them their ideas, do not differ 
in the two schools. There is a little more form here, perhaps, 
but the methods are substantially the same. The exercises of 
the gallery terminated, the classes take their places upon the 
floor under the charge of monitors, or range themselves at the 
desks for writing. The master examines, in a room apart, one 
class at a time, and, after this lesson, gives an interval for the 
play-ground. From the play-ground the classes return to the 
charge of the monitors. When all have passed thus before the 
master, an exercise in the gallery closes the instruction for the 
time. 

The alternation is shown by the following order of the day: 
At half past nine o'clock the school-room and play-ground 
are open to the pupils, and the school commences at ten. 



JUVEfflLE TRAINING-SCHOOL AT GLASGOW. 181 

Ten to eleven, Bible training and religious teaching in the 
gallery. 

Ten minutes play. 

Until a quarter past twelve, reading under monitors, the 
master examining each class in turn. 

Until one, may leave the premises or play. 

One to two, intellectual training in the gallery. 

Ten minutes interval for play. 

Until half-past three, classes under the monitors. 

Play until four, when the ground is closed. 

The efficacy of such a school depends almost entirely upon 
the character of the master, and during my visit, this truth 
was fully im^^ressed, by seeing it under the charge of the 
head master, and again under that of an assistant, and by com- 
paring it with the infant school. There is no teaching so dif- 
cult to many instructors as that by the natural method. For, 
brought up in stiff' and artificial habits, they cannot break 
themselves into those required, and descend to the level of their 
pupils. I saw, however, quite enough to convince me that this 
was a great improvement upon the old system of the Scottish 
schools. The questioning, conversation between the teacher 
and pupils, singing, and other exercises of the gallery, go on 
with more spirit when considerable numbers are present than 
when few are there, and hence are particularly valuable in 
schools which require instruction to be given by one teacher to 
many pupils. The arrangement of the gallery admits of every 
child being distinctly seen, and of his seeing the master, and 
hence is much better than the usual one of benches. When the 
school contains pupils of very different states of progress, it 
loses its efficacy in a great degree, and I consider it still doubt- 
ful whether it will answer thus to unite all classes composing a 
large school. As this school had been only four years in exist- 
ence when I saw it, the dilTiculty did not show itself very pro- 
minently. A provision is made for this case, in the excellent 
manual drawn up by Mr. Stow, in which it is recommended to 
divide the pupils into one or more classes, so that while a part 
are in the gallery, another may be on the floor with monitors, 



182 GENERAL EDUCATIOiV. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

and another in the play-ground. The monitorial system worked 
no better here than elsewhere. Indeed, if the master had no as- 
sistant, and should retire to an adjoining room with a class, the 
mechanism would go on very irregularly, as I had an opportu- 
nity of seeing actually proved. 

Advantage is taken in the arrangement of the school-room 
to keep such printed moral precepts and attractive repre- 
sentations before the eyes of the children as it may be de- 
sired to impress on their memory, care being taken to change 
the objects from time to time, that too great familiarity may 
not blunt the sense of curiosity or interest. Order and neat- 
ness are inculcated by the proper arrangement of every ar- 
ticle of school-furniture, and by that of their own hats and 
cloaks. 

I propose now to state the subjects of instruction, to take 
up each and to notice it in a general way, referring to the 
implements of teaching as the several branches are under ex- 
amination. 

English reading. Roots. Construction and meaning of Eng- 
hsh words. Practical grammar. Mental arithmetic. Practical 
geography. Sacred geography. Objects. Natural history, 
assisted by pictures. Outlines of general science. Outlines of 
geometry. Outlines of civil histor}'. Wriiing. Arithmetic on 
slates, by rule. Grammar by rule. Geography, with the use 
of globes. Daily Bible training. Vocal music, chiefly sacred. 

If the pupils have come from the Infant School, they are in 
part prepared to read without the necessity of referring to first 
elements. In the alphabet class there are pictorial representa- 
tions to impress the words upon the memory. An orthographi- 
cal desk is described, in Mr. Stow's book, as an auxiliary to 
this exercise, but I did not see it in the school. It contains com- 
partments or small boxes, each of which has within it several 
sets of a letter of the alphabet, printed on paper and pasted on 
small square plates of wood. Other boxes contain pictures. 
The child selects a picture, and spells the name of the object, 
forming the word with the letters taken from his set of boxes. 
Another method of learning the alphabet and spelling, recom- 



JUVENILE TRAINING-SCHOOL AT GLASGOW. 183 

mended by Mr. Stow, is to select a letter on a printed page, 
calling it by name, and requiring the child, as an exercise, to 
point out every recurrence of the same letter on the page. 
Among the various methods of teaching to read which have 
been tried, I regret not to have seen in use, so as to form an 
opinion of its success, Jacotot's method of teaching, by begin- 
ning with words instead of letters, especially as it has been sup- 
posed particularly applicable to our language, owing to the va- 
rious sounds belon^in^ to the same letter. It is the fact, that the 
children in the Infant School at Glasgow actually recognise the 
words, and can name them at sight before they can spell them. 

For the introduction of the admirable exercise on the roots, 
construction and meaning of English words, the Scottish schools 
are indebted to Mr. Wood, of Edinburgh, and I shall speak of 
it particularly in describing the Sessional School. 

By practical grammar is meant such as the pupil can obtain 
by his own induction or by teaching, aided by his own compa- 
risons. It is the true elementary grammar, and the name prac- 
tical does not seem to me well chosen. I can give a clearer idea 
of it by an example. Several things are named over to a class — 
hat, desk, chair, &c. These are the names of things. They 
are called nouns. Or, to employ the elliptical method of the 

school, these are the names of , leaving to the pupil to 

reply things. If it is perceived that all have not caught 

the answer, the class are made to repeat it. They are called 

nouns, is stated by the master. A noun is the name of a 

thing, the ellipsis being supplied by the class. Further. You 
wish me to give you a stick of what kind? A short, a long, a 
smooth, &c., will be answered. Short, long, &c., are qualities 

of the stick. They are called adjectives. Short is an 

adjective. Stick is a noun. An adjective is the quality 

of a noun. Combining such exercises with pictorial 

representations of the parts of speech, and varying them until 
they suit the mind of every pupil, an indelible impression is 
made. A foundation is laid for grammar by rules taught in the 
higher classes, which should, however, be so accompanied by 
exercises as to be quite as practical as this. 



184 GENERAL EUUCATION. PKlMARy PERIOD. 

The practical geography consists also of elements, but taught 
in a much loss natural way than in the German schools already 
spoken of. Fictitious travelling should follow a knowledge of 
home ; putting a map into a boy's hand, without explanation, 
is not likely to lead to much inquiry. The methods of this 
school, however, it should be considered, are in a great degree 
experimental. 

In speaking of the courses in the German eleemosynary insti- 
tutions, I have already said so much of mental arithmetic, that 
it is not necessary to dwell here again upon it. It has been 
permanently adopted in many of the English schools, where 
other improvements have been slowly introduced. The lessons 
in arithmetic are begun with the ball frame used for infant in- 
struction. 

Sacred geography is used not only for the purpose of making 
the pupils accurately acquainted with the localities mentioned 
in the Scriptures, and with the curious physical state of the 
country, with its manners and customs and profane history, but 
as an incentive to them to search out from specified parts of the 
Bible the verses where particular places are mentioned, and to 
connect with the localities the incidents of the narrative. 

The lessons in objects are modified from those arranged by 
Miss Mayo, and are adapted to the different ages of an ele- 
mentary schooL They are intended as guides to teachers in 
communicating oral instruction in regard to the objects met 
■with in common lile. The box of objects connected with tiiem 
contains, in the small compass of less than three-sixteenths of 
a cubic foot, one hundred and twelve specimens of various 
productions of nature and art in different countries, each of 
which may form some part of an instructive conversation.* 
These lessons are supplementary to those of the infant school, 
in which more common specimens are used. They serve not 
only to give the direct mental exercise and the information, 
which are their principal purposes, but incidentally are made 



* I have the pleasure to show to the Board one of these cases. A siiuilar one 
ought to be furnished to every elementary school in the country. 



JUVENILE TRAIIVING-SCHOOL AT GLASGOW. 185 

the means of instruction in orthography, writing, and grammar. 
In their direct bearing they may be considered as introductory 
to the courses of technology, which belong to higher instruction. 

The courses of natural history are among those which excite 
the greatest interest in the mind of a child, and which may be 
made most useful in developing the intelligence, strengthening 
the observation and memory, and conveying religious impres- 
sions appropriate to the age. Illustrated by pictures they are 
very attractive; but when the means of acquiring specimens 
are within the power of the school, the courses are rendered 
much more interesting. In the examination of plants and stones, 
they may be made subservient, also, to the purposes of air and 
exercise. It is, of course, understood that there is no attempt 
to teach the subjects as sciences, and specially for their own 
sake. They are mere introductory exercises to such studies, 
to which the tastes of pupils may perhaps lead them at a later 
period of instruction. The importance of forming museums 
of these objects is beginning now to be fully appreciated in the 
best schools. 

Vocal music is not used solely for cultivating the ear or taste, 
but for producing its appropriate moral effects from the cha- 
racter of the songs, and as an important auxiliary to order and 
discipline, substituting harmony for noise during changes of 
position, and promoting regularity. 

The Bible-training has already been described, and in regard 
to the higher subjects of instruction, which follow it immedi- 
ately upon the programme, the classes had not yet reached 
them when I visited the school. Linear drawing upon the 
slate, and copying lines, or tracing the outlines of simple ob- 
jects, are intended to be introduced. In general, the mechanical 
parts of instruction have not yet received their intended develop- 
ment. There is a lesson of an hour in Bible-reading* every 
day, in which the outline given in the infant school is filled up 

* The Bible-stand is placed in front of the gallery, and is so arranged that it 
maybe used to support a black-board or pictures. The hand-bell and whistle for 
signals used in the infant school, are still employed in this. The posts for the 
monitorial lessons are, in a great degree, superseded by books. 

24 



186 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

by more copious selections of historical or other matter. The 
pupils are exercised on the meaning of the words, on the lead- 
ing points of the story, and on the moral lessons to be deduced, 
and it is found that if the premises are well laid down, the chil- 
dren will themselves draw the proper conclusions. The teacher 
is not permitted to inform them directly of any thing w hich by 
analysis, comparison, or illustration, they can be made to find 
out for themselves. Those pupils who can read are expected 
to go over the lesson. The mode of obtaining answers is, in 
part, by direct interrogation, and in part by the elliptical me- 
thod. From the character of this school, and the connexion of 
its directors with the church, it must be considered a most im- 
portant conclusion, in reference to the improvement of the paro- 
chial schools, that the method of conveying religious instruc- 
tion by the learning of catechisms by rote, is inferior to that 
already described as in use here. 

The system of changing places in the class is not approved as a 
principle, yet a modification of it is nevertheless in use. It would 
require very careful experiment under the actual circumstances 
of the pupils and teachers of any school, to prove that this mode 
can be dispensed with. I agree entirely as to the necessity for 
greatly modifying it, and as to the principle that the motive of 
emulation is an inferior one. In the present condition of society, 
however, I do not believe that emulation in schools can be en- 
tirely dispensed w^ith, if w^e would have the youth in them pre- 
pared for active life. Men are esteemed by their fellows in 
proportion to their intellectual and moral qualities, and though 
society is not formally graded by placing individuals in the pre- 
cise order of these qualities, yet every one is aware that some 
men have greater influence than others, because of higher in- 
tellectual and moral attainments, and the desire to stand high 
in the estimation of others is, at present, one of the strongest, 
though certainly not of the purest, motives to exertion. Self- 
emulation is a much more noble and safe guide to action, and 
no doubt may, under judicious management, be rendered a very 
powerful stimulus. 

The principle of discipline laid down in this school, not to use 



JUVENILE TRAINING-SCHOOL AT GLASGOW. 187 

things which you desire a child should love, as a punishment, 
is an excellent one, and I regretted to see the practice, in some 
cases, going counter to it. Corporal chastisement has not been 
resorted to for two and a-half years. 

Moral and Physical Training. As already stated, the play- 
ground, or " uncovered school-room," is considered the place 
in which moral training is to be accomplished, where the prin- 
ciples taught in the school may be carried into practice so 
as to become habits. Accordingly, the play-ground is not 
merely fitted up with the means of exercise, but is planted, in 
part, with flowers and fruit, accessible to all, but which are to 
be enjoyed under the injunction, "smell, see, but touch not." 
It has been, and is, in part, to this day, the reproach of Eng- 
land and the United States, that public property is always in- 
jured; that flowers cannot bloom, nor fruit ripen, unless when 
enclosed; and in France, which is considered as oftering an ex- 
ception to this barbarous practice, I fear that the result is pro- 
duced rather by the certainty of detection and punishment, than 
from the influence of a higher motive. Education is the true 
source of relief from this reproach ; if the child be trained to 
respect what belongs to the public, the man will never injure it- 
Such views have been decried as visionary, and the idea that a 
child could be so trained has been scouted. But facts prove 
that the visionary persons were only a little in advance of the 
times, and their training system has succeeded, and its princi- 
ples will finally be so generally adopted, that to doubt them will 
be as remarkable as the idea itself originally appeared. In this 
particular school upwards of one hundred and eighty scholars, 
from the manufacturing classes of Glasgow, have been in the 
habit of using the play-ground for more than an hour and 
a-quarter every day for two years and a-half, without damage 
to the flowers or fruits which it contains. Great attention is paid 
to neatness in the play-ground, that the habits inculcated in the 
school may be carried out here. It affords, also, opportunities 
of exemplifying lessons on cruelty to animals, on truth, justice, 
kindness, and other virtues. The means of healthy exercise is 
given by the more simple kinds of gymnastics, one of the most 



188 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

popular and excellent of which is their circular swing. Wooden 
prisms are furnished for building, and the more ordinary games 
of ball, &c., are also practised. There is an opportunity in 
the play-ground for a full display of character, which, when 
observed, and rightly managed, leads to the same system em- 
ployed by a judicious parent at home, with the advantage of 
better opportunities of judging of the points of character which 
require developing or repressing, from the influence of numbers 
in making these points more prominent. It is plain that such a 
system of moral training, carried into an institution hke ours, 
must be invaluable, and that its results will be felt not only by 
our pupils, but by the society through which they will be dis- 
persed. There is, however, one consideration which should 
not be lost sight of The recluse system which we are to fol- 
low in the main, not being that according to which society is 
organized, our pupils might not be trained for after life. Ha- 
bits Required in the institution might thus easily be broken 
through under the influence of new circumstances out of doors. 
The necessity for gradually approximating our arrangements 
to those of society at large is thus suggested, of developing the 
pupil as far as possible in the way in which he would be treated 
in a family. Of gradually, not suddenly, taking from around 
and beneath him the fostering arms of the institution, and of 
not abandoning him to his own direction until all reasonable 
means have been taken to give self-government, under the cir- 
cumstances in which he is to be placed. 

As a vent for the animal spirits of a child, the play-ground 
is an important auxiliary to the school. A quarter of an hour 
spent there between the lessons leads not only to health, but to 
greater quiet on the return of the pupil to the room. Supple- 
mentary to it are simultaneous movements, executed by the 
class by express direction of the master. The subdued quiet 
produced by a rigid discipline may be a necessary evil in large 
schools, but should still be considered as an evil, and means 
taken to counteract its effects by exercise from time to time in 
and out of the class-room. Hence the mechanical motions con- 
sidered by some as so ludicrous in the Lancastrian system are 



SESSIONAL SCHOOL OF EDINBURGH. 189 

founded on a proper regard to the principles of physical edu- 
cation. 

It need scarcely be remarked that this system of training 
can no more be carried on without the master's presence in 
the play-ground, than without it in the school-room, and in this 
particular it coincides witli the best examples of practice in the 
German schools. 

THE SESSIONAL SCHOOL OF EDINBURGH. 

The formation of a system of Sunday schools by the dif- 
ferent church sessions of Edinburgh in 1813, showed that the 
week-day education of those who came for religious instruction 
on Sundays, was in many cases most grossly neglected, from a 
deficiency in the number of and attendance on the parochial 
schools, and that a reform in this particular must take place 
before any real progress could be made in the Sunday instruc- 
tion. This led to the establishment of a day-school, in which 
a certain number of pupils, sent by the different sessions, were 
instructed gratuitously, and a still larger number from the quar- 
ter of the town where the school was placed, at merely a nomi- 
nal fee. This school has been up to the time of taking its present 
form, entirely an experimental one. It was not begun by laying 
down a set of rules and regulations, but by authoi'izing the Se- 
cretary and Committee of the Board of Delegates to try such 
plans as might seem good to them. At first the arrangements 
and methods of the Lancastrian system were introduced; these 
made way for those of Dr. Bell, and the school owes its present 
reputation and influence to the admirable methods engrafted 
by Sheriff Wood, upon a skeleton form of the latter system. 
These were also experimental. Mr. Wood was not a teacher 
himself, but became so from the interest which he felt in this 
particular school. Beginning with his ideas as to the manner of 
improving the teaching of arithmetic, he made trial of his 
method, and its success led in turn to the explanator}' system 
in reading, to its extension through all the classes, to the etymo- 
logical method among the higher classes, to inductive instruc- 
tion in grammar, and to an improved method in geography. 



190 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

This system is eminently intellectual, its leading characteristic, 
however, being the exercise of the faculties through language. 
It neglects the advantages to be derived from objects, takes 
little or no cognizance of the physical education, and inculcates 
morals, without specially training in their practice. It is in fact 
the old metiiod of the English school made intellectual. I should 
say that its influence has been more extensively felt in the 
higher schools than in the lower, and that its verbal character 
belongs rather to them than to the others. With Mr. Wood as 
the master, this system is intellectual in spite of the monitorial 
arrangements which it uses, but it is in the upper classes espe- 
cially, whence the monitors are derived, that it shows its full 
character. With the monitors in general, though they may be 
directed to avoid routine, it is difficult to secure such a result; 
accordingly, I perceived distinctly, that under the diminished 
attention of Sheriff Wood at the school, and the administration 
of it by another teacher, its tone had essentially lowered from 
that usually supposed to prevail in it. This remark will be 
better understood, however, when speaking of the method of 
teaching. 

The school-room is arranged as in the Madras system, with 
writing-desks around the wall. The classes occupy the floor, 
one-half of the pupils being there at a time. They form in arcs 
of circles, one behind the other, the middle scholar exactly 
facing the desk of the master, which is at one end of the room, 
and the monitors standing near the front and middle of the 
classes, which they face. 

The arrangements of books and slates are made by the mo- 
nitors a little before ten o'clock, and at ten the school begins. 
A prayer is said. Half the pupils occupy the desks, engaged 
in writing or cyphering. The other half are in classes on the 
floor, occupied with spelling, reading, grammar, &c. In half 
an hour they change occupations with each other. From eleven 
o'clock until twelve the first division is engaged with arithmetic, 
in classes on the floor, and the second writes. The monitors 
receive instruction from twelve until one, with a brief interval, 
the other pupils having an hour of recreation. At one the school 



SESSIONAL SCHOOL AT EDINBURGH. 191 

recommences, the first division writing while the second is on the 
floor. These change at two o'clock; at three the places of the 
pupils in their classes are recorded. They repeat the Lord's 
Prayer and are dismissed, except those who volunteer to attend 
a lesson in geography. 

Saturday is a half-holiday. On Mondays and Saturdays the 
school is open to the inspection of visitors. 

In the explanatory method of this school the reading-lessons 
are the great means of imparting incidental instruction; its ap- 
plication begins with the very elements, so that the child never 
reads a word without being made to understand it, nor a sen- 
tence without comprehending the words and their connexion. 
This renders the reading-lessons pleasing as well as easy, and 
thus they are made the vehicles of much useful information. 
The habit of minute analysis is cultivated, and, in the end, a 
great command and thorough knowledge of the English lan- 
guage is obtained by it. 

The alphabet is learned as usual, the child being taught to 
name each letter and to recognise it. Then follow words (not 
mere unmeaning syllables) of two letters,* printed both in Ro- 
man and Italic characters, and simple sentences framed from 
them, all of which should in turn be explained by or to the pupil 
Next are words of threef letters, arranged according to a sys- 
tem, with sentences combining the words, and adapted to the 
comprehension of the child. The reading-book, with words of 
four letters, which follows this, admits of a considerable variety 

* For example, the first lesson contains the words Be, He, Me, We, Ye, &c., 
which the child should give his own notion of. Thus, spelling Be, he illustrates 
it by saying " to be good," &c.. Me, the pupil may point to himself, &c. Any an- 
swers should be satisfactory which show some apprehension of the use of the 
word or its meaning. 

t The first lesson in these letters contains words with two consonants followed 
by a vowel, as Fly, Cry, Ply, Sly, &c., sentences combining these and the fore- 
going, as " why do you cry." Next a vowel between two consonants. Here the 
pupil is called upon to supply examples which rhyme, and to read sentences made 
up of words not in the lesson, the sentences beginning now to assume a higher 
character as to moral sentiment or intellect. The succeeding lessons contain words 
ending with a dipthong or a silent e. 



192 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

of matter, as Bible histories, ideas of natural phenomena, or of 
the more common trades and processes. All of these should 
be made instructive exercises, and will be so under intelligent 
teachers. Routine in all should be strictly avoided, as it de- 
stroys the spirit* of the method. The higher reading brings in 
geography and history incidentally, and subjects connected 
■with mechanics, which are exceedingly popular among the 
pupils. There is a lending-library, to encourage a taste for 
reading out of school, which is much used. 

Instruction in grammar, upon the inductive plan and without 
the use of a text-book, is begun early in the school. The 
method is that already described under the title of practical 
grammar in the Juvenile School at Glasgow. It is eminently 
successful as an introduction to grammar by rule, and is an 
exercise in which the pupil takes an interest, from the investi- 
gation which it requires of him.-j- 

The etymological instruction introduced by Mr. Wood is 
one of the most striking features of his method. The teaching 
is also inductive, and even incidental to the reading, though, of 
course, the teacher must have a plan or systematic arrange- 
ment in his own mind, that important omissions may not occur.J 
As an example of their etymological lessons, suppose the pupil, 
in reading, meets the word " introduce," he is made to divide it, 
"intro" and "duce." He is told that "intro" is a prefix from the 

* At my first visit to this school, I was highly pleased with the answers of 
a class of little urchins who were in words of three syllables. " You " was 
well illustrated by pointing to the master. " Two^' by another pointing to him- 
self and neighbour. " Yew," a yew tree. " Eice" a female sheep. " Dew," 
water on the grass. Returning on the following public day, my pleasure was 
marred by hearing identically the same boys give precisely the same answers, 
showing that they liad as much learned them by rote, as if they were definitions 
from an Expositor. 

t Mr. Wood's plan will be found fully detailed in his "Account of the Edin- 
burgh Sessional School." 

t Wood's Etymological Guide, Oswald's Etymological Manual, and Oswald's 
Etymological Dictionary, have all been published to supply the demand for this 
kind of instruction, which has spread through the schools of Edinburgh with the 
best results. Mr. Gibson, of Cauvin's Hospital, was also engaged on a work on 
this subject when I visited Edinburgh, in 1837. 



SESSIONAL SCHOOL AT EDINBURGH. 193 

Latin, and means within. He is asked for some other word 
beginning with " intro," and soon exhausts " introduction," " in- 
troductory," &c. The other part is next taken up, and its mean- 
ing (to lead) is explained. Examples of it are given by different 
members of the class, as "adduce," "conduce," "deduce," "edu- 
cate," "induce," "induction," "produce," &c. The teacher 
takes care that no important word is omitted in furnishing these 
examples. The true knowledge of the meaning of words thus 
acquired has led to the use of the method even in the classical 
schools, where it is found to furnish a new motive to study, by 
placing one application of his knowledge immediately before 
the pupil. The great command of words which it must give, 
when derivations from different ancient and modern languages 
are thus called for, is quite obvious. 

The instruction in geography is entirely by the use of maps 
and oral explanations ; places are pointed out on a map, and 
information given in respect to them. When their relative po- 
sitions are well fixed in the pupil's mind, the points marking 
them are transferred to a black-board, with or without an out- 
hne of the limits of the country where they are situated, and 
the pupil is exercised in naming them; similar plans are pursued 
in regard to other parts of the subject. This, as well as other 
branches of Mr. Wood's method, approaches closely to that 
used in the best German schools, and requires considerable 
attainments in the teachers. If left to monitors, it cannot fail 
to lose its spirit. 

The exercises in arithmetic are among the most striking in 
the school. Mental arithmetic is particularly cultivated, and 
the higher classes acquire an extraordinary facility in its accu- 
rate use. It is begun simultaneously with the second book of 
reading, and the lessons generally consist in part of mental 
and in part of written arithmetic,* one portion of the time be- 
ing devoted exclusively to exercises, another to teaching a new 

* In one of my visits to the school, a row of twelve figures was multiplied by 
the number five, in four seconds from the time when the instructor had'given out 
the question, but he began by the multiplier, and some of the pupils were at 
work as he gave out the multiplicand. 
2.5 



194 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

rule with examples. The dull method of working through the 
questions of a book is not countenanced, the instruction as well 
as examples being given by the teacher or monitor. 

In writing, which is begun upon the slate, as well as in 
cyphering, the pencil is put into a tin tube, that the child may 
not acquire a bad habit of holding it. Steel pens are used here 
and in several other schools which I visited, and answer well. 

In regard to discipline and other school and class arrange- 
ments, this establishment is not peculiar. Mr. Wood regards cor- 
poral punishment as necessary, but requires that it should be used 
as seldom as possible. He is also an advocate for the system 
of places in a class, and of prizes for scholarship, but would 
especially encourage self-emulation, the principle upon which 
some other teachers rely entirely, to the exclusion of the first. 
He disapproves of tasks or confinement in the school-room, as 
associating study and school with ideas of punishment. 

This institution is a remarkable instance of an intellectual 
reform, beginning with a charity-school, and extending upwards. 
It is but too often the case that schools for the poor are consi- 
dered as appropriately of a lower grade than others ; at least it 
is so in Europe. 

ELEMENTARY DEPARTMENTS OF THE MADRAS COLLEGE, 

This institution resulted from an arrangement made by the 
late Dr. Bell, author of the Madras system* of education, with the 
authorities of St. Andrews, his native place. The Madras Col- 
lege replaces the Borough School, and besides is intended to 
exemplify the application of the S3^stem of mutual instruction to 
the various departments of elementary and higher education. 

It is under the direction of four trustees, of whom the provost 
of the burgh is one. They legislate in regard to the institution 
in general, but the details of instruction are left entirely to the 
masters. 

The college building is a beautiful structure, in the Elizabethan 

* So called from its having been first applied by Dr. Bell, in a large schoal 
under his care, attached to an asyliun for soldiers' children at Madras. 



MADRAS SCHOOLS OF ST. ANDREWS. 195 

Gothic style, standing at a convenient distance from one of the 
main streets, and having in front upon tiie street the picturesque 
ruin of the monastery of the Greyfriars. The different schools 
are erected about a quadrangle, the cloistered sides of which 
form a sheltered play-ground, and all but the classical depart- 
ment being a single story in height. The great height of these 
rooms secures a good ventilation, but the arched ceilings and 
smooth walls are the worst possible for school-rooms, from the 
excessive reverberation. On the lower floor of the building of 
the classical department are a series of small school-rooms, in- 
tended for the teachers of modern languages, &lc. Tw^o of the 
masters have houses at the entrance of the grounds, and are 
allowed to take boarders. 

The college is divided into five departments, entirely distinct 
from each other, the classical, French, mathematical, writing 
and drawing, and English departments. As the instruction in the 
last three belongs either in whole or part to the elementary pe- 
riod, I propose to make a few remarks upon it here, not intend- 
ing, however, again to discuss the Bell system, but merely to 
present some of the peculiar points which w^ere brought to my 
notice by a visit to this school, and intercourse with its intelli- 
gent teachers. 

Each school has a teacher and an assistant, and every teacher 
is independent of the other, the arrangements in the subsidiary 
schools being, however, such as to admit attendance there 
without interference with the others, and the parents being free 
to choose which departments their children shall attend. The 
English department is divided into two sections, the school fees 
being higher in the one than in the other, which produces a 
corresponding difference in the character of the pupils. The 
lower school, as it may be called, contains four hundred chil- 
dren, varying in age from four to sixteen. Each class is sepa- 
rated into two parts, if required by its numbers, and is under 
the charge of monitors. The thorough Bell system is used in 
this section, and its intellectual character is much below that of 
the higher section, which is less numerous, and where the classes 
have the benefit of more immediate instruction from the assist- 



196 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

ant master. It is a general rule that every class in both sec- 
tions shall come before the master or his assistant every day, 
and this rule prevades the other departments of the college. In 
the lower section of the English school, however, from its num- 
bers, this exercise must be a mere revision by the master, while 
in the higher it is a true lesson. In this section I heard an ex- 
cellent recitation from the pupils in reading, with explanatory 
and etymological exercises, according to Mr. Wood's plan, in 
English grammar with the correction of false syntax, and in 
history. Girls and boys were mingled in the classes. 

In the mathematical school arithmetic is taught by monitors, 
the lessons being revised by the master. Modern geography 
is also taught here, and the school is well furnished with out- 
line maps without names. In the higher classes of arithmetic, 
the revisions by the master are more in the form of lessons, 
and in geometry the mutual instruction nearly disappears. 

The pupils of the English schools all attend the writing 
school for an hour a-day. The monitorial system here produces 
very good results, and I have no doubt that when a merely 
mechanical branch is to be taught, it is entirely applicable. The 
monitors are divided into four classes, each of which serves dur- 
ing a quarter of the hour spent in school. Drawing is pursued 
at other hours by those who have the disposition for it. 

The schools composing this college, the higher departments 
inclusive,* are among the best in Scotland, but they owe their 
merits to the character of the masters, and not of the method. 
In fact, the instruction appears to produce the best results where 
the monitorial system is least used, and the master's talent is 
directly exercised in teaching. 

CIRCUS PLACE SCHOOL, EDINBUEGH. 

It is seldom that the advantages of a decided improvement in 
instruction in one institution are lost to the public from not being 

* The classical department is under the charge of the Rev. Mr. Carmichael, 
to whose hospitality and kind attention I feel much indebted. 



CIRCUS PLACE SCHOOL OF EDINBURGH. 197 

transferred to others. I have ah'eady stated that the system of 
the Sessional School has led to considerable improvement in 
the various schools of Edinburgh. That in Circus Place was 
founded by subscription, to apply the intellectual method of Mr. 
Wood to the instruction of boys who are preparing for the 
Edinburgh High School or Academy, or other classical schools. 

It receives pupils from the age of four to six years, and re- 
tains them until nine or ten, when they are fitted to begin a 
classical course. The intelligent rector* informed me, that he 
preferred decidedly such pupils as came from the infant schools 
to others, finding them more teachable and more tractable. 

The school is purely an English one, and the branches taught 
are generally similar to those of the Sessional School. It has, 
however, a great advantage over the latter, in the fact that each 
class has an intelligent teacher, and hence no monitors are used, 
unless for the relief of the master in promoting order, by no- 
ticing offences. The classes are in different rooms, some of 
which have the benches placed upon forms rising in steps. 

A great improvement has been made in the intellectual sys- 
tem here, by the introduction of objects of nature and art as 
the ground-work of many lessons. The advantages of this im- 
provement are hardly yet fully realized. The directors are 
earnestly engaged, however, in extending the museum auxiliary 
to these lessons. There is a lending-library for the use of the 
school. 

In the higher classes half an hour of each week day, except 
Saturday, is occupied with religious instruction. Two hours 
with reading and incidental instruction in grammar and his- 
tory, &c. Half an hour with geography. Half an hour with 
grammar. Half an hour with arithmetic, and one hour with 
writing. 

The highest class, composed only of boys, during their read- 
ing-lessons are fully drilled on " prefixes and post-fixes," and 
the analysis of our language, according to the method of Mr. 

* The Rev, Alexander Reid. 



198 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

Wood. Both in this and the next class the instruction which 
I witnessed was excellent. 

The classes have an hour of interval in the middle of the day, 
which they are allowed to spend in the play-ground attached to 
the school, but no attempt at regular physical education has yet 
been made. 



PRIMARY INSTRUCTION IN FRANCE. 199 



CHAPTER III. 



PUBLIC ELEMENTARY INSTRUCTION IN FRANCE, 

The present law regulating primary instruction in France, 
dates from the year 1833. Previous to framing it, M. Cousin 
was deputed by the Minister of Public Instruction to visit some 
of the states of Germany, the systems of which have the highest 
reputation, and especially Prussia. The information collected 
by him, and chiefly embodied in his Report,* is supposed to 
have contributed in an important degree to the framing of the 
new law. By one of the provisions of this law, primary in- 
struction is divided into two grades, elementary, and superior 
primary, and the least amount of instruction admissible in each 
grade is defined. In the first is enumerated moral and religious 
instruction, reading, writing, the elements of the French lan- 
guage, and arithmetic, and the system of weights and measures 
prescribed by law. Linear drawing, is very generally added 
to these branches, and in many of the schools, vocal music is 
also taught. 

To the subjects just enumerated, the law adds, as a minimum 
for superior primary instruction, the elements of geometry, with 
its common applications, particularly to geometrical drawing 
and surveying, the elementary principles of physical science, 
and natural history and geography, and particularly the history 
and geography of France. This superior primary instruction 
has spread but little, even in the metropolis of France, and the 
whole kingdom contained in 1838 but three hundred and thirty- 
two schools of the sort.f In Lyons I found but one public 

* Report on the state of public instruction in several of the countries of 
Europe, and especially in the kingdom of Prussia, by Victor Cousin, Peer of 
France, &,c. 

t Two hundred and thirty-five of these schools are public, and ninety-seven 
private. Report of the Minister of Public Instruction to the King, on primary 
instruction, June 1, 1838. 



200 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

school of this grade in 1838, and that but imperfectly devel- 
oped. 

While the law thus lays down the branches of instruc- 
tion constituting the least admissible, it very properly says 
nothing about the methods of teaching. In the public schools 
there are, however, two leading luethods, those of mutual 
and simultaneous instruction. The first is a modified Lan- 
castrian system, originally introduced from England. The 
second is used chiefly in the schools of the "Christian Bro- 
thers," and its practices are derived from the founder of this 
religious body, the Abbe John La Salle. Specimens of both 
are to be found in the model schools attached to the Normal 
seminaries for educating piimary teachers, of which there is 
one for every department of France, with one exception. 
Teachers educated in these establishments are expected to be 
able to use either method. In many of the schools fragments 
of the two are joined, constituting what has been termed a 
mixed system. It cannot, with propriety, however, be consi- 
dered a special method, but is rather a modification, in various 
degrees, of one of the systems by the introduction of parts of 
the other. Of the schools upon the system of mutual instruc- 
tion, I visited at Paris, with greater or less care, four, besides 
giving a glance at two others, in reference to musical instruc- 
tion. Of those taught by the Christian Brothers I visited two. 
At Versailles, the two in connexion with the primary Normal 
schools, and the similar ones at Dijon. At Lyons, two of the 
first named kind and one of the second. The selection was 
made, of course, with reference to the merits of tlie schools in 
regard to which I had the best advice.*/ Those on the plan of 
mutual instruction were inferior to the English model, and those 
upon the other system, to the similar schools in Holland, or in 
Germany, generally. Hence, I do not feel warranted in enter- 
ing into details in regard to them in this Report. Primary 

* At Paris I was much indebted to the obHging offices of M. Lamotte, In- 
spector of Primary Schools, to whom I was introduced by tlie kindness of M. 
Cousin. I was also much obliged by the kind introductions of the Minister of 
Public Instruction, IVLSalvandy, of M. Arago, and of M. Charles Coquerel. 



PRIMARY SCHOOLS OF FRANCE. 201 

instruction in France is in a state of transition, which, aUhough 
it holds out a fair promise for the future, presents, at present, 
but little for imitation in the individual schools. 

I ought to notice that the mode of teacliing music adopted 
in the mutual instruction schools of Paris, has proved highly 
successful, and that, in general, the results of the attempt to - 
introduce vocal music into these schools have surpassed the 
expectation even of its advocates. The introduction of linear 
drawing has also been attended with success, but the mode of 
teaching from engravings is, I think, for the purposes in view, 
inferior to that used in the schools of Berhn. 

It must not be supposed, from the foregoing remarks, that 1 
undervalue the efforts lately made and now making in France, 
in behalf of primary instruction. The law itself was a great 
step. The system of inspection, which was begun in 1833, was 
carried out by the permanent appointment of one inspector to 
each department in 1835, and greatly extended by creating 
sub-inspectors in 1838, and is a most valuable auxihary to the 
law. The regulation of the schools for girls in 1836; the in- 
crease of primary normal schools from forty-seven in 1833 to 
seventy-four in 1838; the increase of more than a million in 
the attendance on the boys' schools alone, between 1829 and 
1838;* the systematic encouragement to infant schools; all these 
are positive results, which have been already obtained, and on 
which France has great reason to congratulate herself. It was , 
not to be expected that, with the previous deficiency in the 
number of schools for primary instruction in France, there 
would be great fastidiousness as to their character, which must, 
however, rapidly improve, if the introduction of well prepared 
teachers from the normal schools is allowed to have its full 
effect. 

* These numbers are from a Report on Primary Instruction, by the Minister 
of Public Instruction (M. Salvandy) to the King of the French, Dated June 
1, 1838. 



2G 



202 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 



CHAPTER IV. 

PRIMARY INSTRUCTION IN HOLLAND. 

Among the primary schools of Holland are some of the best 
which I visited, and the whole condition of popular instruction 
is worthy of a nation which has ever been distinguished for its 
virtue and intelligence. 

The primary instruction of Holland began to receive its pre- 
sent form at the close of the last century, and chiefly by the in- 
strumentality of the " Society for Public Utility," the branches 
of vi^hich extended throughout the country. This society estab- 
lished model schools where they were required, published cheap 
text-books, excited discussions on methods of teaching, and sti- 
mulated the local authorities and others to the establishment of 
new schools. Always withdrawing its efforts when no longer 
needed in the cause, it avoided the effects of jealousy, by show- 
ing that it had no desire for control. 

With a view to produce system throughout the then Bata- 
vian Republic, a law containing the general principles which 
should govern primary instruction was passed in 1806, and 
was accompanied by a series of regulations, to carry out its 
details. The most important provisions of the law are those 
for the inspection and management of the schools, and for the 
due qualification of schoolmasters, the establishment of individual 
schools being left to the local authorities. The system of in- 
spection is eminently adapted to a country where centralization 
has never existed, and has proved highly successful in its opera- 
tion. It begins with the appointment in each school district of 
an inspector, and, when the schools are numerous, gives him' 
the assistance of a committee. 

The inspectors of the different school districts of a province 
form the Provincial Board of Primary Instruction, who meet 
thrice every year, receive the reports of the inspectors, dehbe- 



PRIMARY SCHOOLS OP HOLLAND. 203 

rate upon the concerns of primary instruction in the province, 
and make report annually to the minister of the interior. To 
carry out this system, the minister of the interior has authority 
to convene at the capital an assembly of delegates from the 
provincial Boards, to advise upon general matters. Only one 
such meeting has, however, taken place. In the general con- 
trol of primary instruction, the minister of the interior is re- 
f aced by an officer called a referendary, and there is also an 
inspector general,* who resides at the Hague. 

To be admitted to the rank of a teacher, certain preliminary 
examinations must be passed before the school-inspector, or 
local or provincial Board, according to the grade sought. 
There are four grades, requiring each a different examination. 
The lowest of these may be obtained at the age of sixteen, the 
third at eighteen, and the second at twenty-two. The second 
qualifies for the mastership of any primary school, and the first 
is, in fact, honorary. To pass the examination for the second 
grade, the candidate must be able to read and spell correctly, 
to write a good hand, must have a knowledge of the theory of 
the Dutch language, geography, history, arithmetic in all its 
branches, and a facility in imparting instruction. His moral 
and religious qualifications are also ascertained. 

This general examination entitles an instructor to become a 
candidate for vacant schools, either public or private, but does 
not supersede the special examination or competition which 
may be required by their directors. 

The law, besides, enjoins upon the local authorities, on the 
one hand, to furnish a sufficient number of schools for the po- 
pulation, and on the other, not to allow such a number as to 
render the income of the several masters inadequate to their 
support. 

The definition of a primary school, as given in one of the 
regulations issued to complete the law, covers a wide field. 
According to it, a primary school is one in which youth is in- 

• To this gentleman, M. Wynbeek, I am indebted fjr much attention, for 
which I beg leave here to return my thanks. 



'204 GENERAL EnUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOIJ. 

stiTicted in the first principles of knowledge, such as reading, 
writing, arithmetic, and the Dutch language, or the more ad- 
vanced branches, such as the French, or other modern lan- 
guages, or the ancient languages, geography, history, and other 
subjects of that description. There are several diflerent kinds 
of schools, corresponding to diflerent grades of instruction in 
these branches. Infant school instruction is included in the 
primary department, but it is not yet fully developed, being 
limited chiefly to Rotterdam and Zwolle. 

The lowest schools are those for the poor (armen-scholen), 
and which are entirely gratuitous. The children enter at from 
six to seven, and remain until twelve or fourteen. As supple- 
mentary to them are evening schools, principally intended for 
revising former courses, and which should be attended until 
sixteen or eighteen years of age. As the attendance in these 
latter schools is not obligatory, the proportion of those who 
receive instruction in them varies much in different localities. 

The next are called intermediate schools (tusschen-scholen), 
in which the pupils pay a trifling fee.* Both these are, in 
general, public. Some have been established by the school- 
committees, and after a few years have become self-support- 
ing. The grade of instruction is rather higiitr than in the 
schools for the poor, but as the law does not prescribe any 
particular programme, it varies much in the diflerent parts of 
Holland — a school which would be called intermediate in a 
small town ranking below one of the gratuitous establishments 
for the poor in one of the chief cities. The amount taught 
depends, other circumstances being the same, upon the average 
age to which the children remain at school, and, therefore, 
varies also in tlie diflerent parts of the kingdom. 

The next grade, or burgher school (burger school), is, in 
general, a private establishment. It is distinguished from both 
the classes just enumerated by a larger fee,f and, in general, by 

* For example, in an intermediate school at Rotterdam wliich I visited, eight 
cenis a week. 

t The school fee at the burgher school at Haarlem is between six and seven 
dollars a year. 



PRIMARY' SCHOOLS OF HOLLANDi 205 

a higher grade of instruction; but while in a single town or 
district it is easy to perceive this gradation, yet it is scarcely 
possible to observe it on a comparison of the country at large. 
In some places, the last men'ioned school is called the Dutch 
school, to distinguish it from the following class. 

The school denominated the " French School"* is the highest 
of the primary division, and is, in general, a private establish- 
ment, though frequently of the kind classed by the law with 
private schools, but superintended, in reality, by the local 
school-committee itself. Besides the branches taught in the 
other schools, the courses of this embrace the French language, 
of which the pupils acquire a grammatical knowledge, and 
which they are enabled to speak with considerable facility. 
These schools prepare their pupils for entrance into active life, 
and serve, also, in some degree, as feeders to the grammar or 
Latin schools. The instruction in French is not, however, an 
exclusive mark of this grade of institution, as the descendants 
of the French emigrants, constituting the Walloon congrega- 
tions, continue the teaching of this language in the gratuitous 
schools for the poor connected with their churches. 

While, in point of fact, there is not the regular fourfold divi- 
sion of primary instruction which thus appears, it is difficult to 
draw a separating line.f The intermediate school connects 
the school for the poor and the burgher school, while in the 
burgher schools, the same branches are studied as in the F/ench 
schools, except the French language. TJje less number of 
children under the charge of one master, the greater age to 
which the children in general remain at school, the generally 
greater capacity of the master, from the higher salary which 
his talents command, the greater family culture of the children 
before coming into and while in the school, render the average 
progress in the burgher school of a given place superior to that 

* All these classes, viz,, Infant, Poor, Intermediate, Dutch, and French Schools, 
were noted in the returns of the school-committee at Rotterdam, wliich their se- 
cretary, M. Mees, had the kindness to show me. 

t M. Cousin, in his work, " De I'lnstruction Publique en Holland," 1837, 
places the division between the burgher and the French schools. 



20G GENERAL EDUCATIOX. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

in t!ie inlermediate school, and in this latter higher than in the 
school fur the poor. I must say, however, that in more than 
one case, in the same ])lace, I could detect no difference in the 
school itself, between the intermediate and the burgher school, 
except in the greater comfort of the accommodations of the 
latter; and I have already remarked that, in comparing the 
establishments of different places, the name is not an accurate 
guide to the grade of the school. 

A sketch of the arrangement of the primary schools them- 
selves would, I have thought, be rendered more compendious, 
without injury to its fidelity, by selecting for particular descrip- 
tion one of the schools for the poor, which, as a class, rank 
higher in Holland than in any other of the European states, and 
engrafting upon the account of this, remarks on the methods of 
other schools; concluding by a brief statement of the particulars 
in which the intermediate, burgher, or French schools differ, in 
general, from the assumed type, or from each other. 

Before doing so, however, there are some points fixed by the 
school regulations which require notice. The first is, that the 
system of instruction must be that called simultaneous, or in 
which all the pupils of a class take part at once. In practice, 
tliis requires to be varied by questions adapted to individuals, and 
the classes, therefore, must not be too large. In the intermediate 
schools I found, more commonly, classes of from thirty to fifty, 
the lesser number being w^ell adapted to the method. With a 
well trained master, and a class of moderate numbers, this kind 
of instruction is the most lively that can be imagined, and when 
judiciously varied by questions put to all, but which only one is 
permitted to answer, it is also thorough. It is, in a great de- 
gree, the system already described of Mr. Wood's own class 
in the Edinburgh Sessional School 

The method of mutual instruction is not at all favoured in 
Holland. A very decided and general opinion against it ap- 
pears early to have been brought about by the comparison of 
the English schools with their own. A prize was oflered for 
the best dissertation on the subject by the society for public 
utility, and taken by M. Visser, inspector of primary schools 



PRIMARY SCHOOLS OF HOLLAND. 207 

in Freesland. This excellent dissertation* which was published 
and widely distributed by the society, no doubt contributed to 
form or to strengthen the opinion which prevails at this day. 

The only approach to the monitorial system in the schools 
of Holland is, that pupils who have an inclination to teach, and 
who will probably become teachers, are put in charge of the 
lower classes of a school. Thus, also, some of the best moni- 
tors of the Borough-road School in London are boys who are 
likely one day to follow the career of teaching. There is, 
however, a very wide difference between the use of a few ap- 
prentices to the profession, and that of a large number of moni- 
tors to give instruction. I had occasion to observe, however, 
that in many cases there was a want of life in the younger 
classes entrusted to these inexperienced teachers. If they are 
to be used, it would be better to employ them in classes which 
have some training, even though nearer the teacher's age and 
attainments. 

The next point is in regard to religious instruction in the 
schools. There is unbounded toleration of religious creed in 
Holland, and while the necessity of religious instruction in the 
schools has been strongly felt, it has been made to stop short 
of the point at which, becoming doctrinal, the subjects taught 
could interfere with the views of any sect. Bible stones 
are made the means of moral and religious teaching in the 
school, and the doctrinal instruction is given by the pastors of 
the different churches on days appointed for the purpose, and 
usually not in the school-room. 

The last point is in regard to the choice of school-books. 
The publication of them is not left to open competition. Every 
book, before it can be used in a public school, must be submit- 
ted to the examination of the minister of the interior, acting of 
course by deputy, and if approved, is admitted to the list of 
books which may be used in the schools. From this list the 
provincial board of primary schools select those which they 

* " Essays on the subjects of instruetion necessary in the schools for the poor, 
and on the best methods of instruetioji, with a comparison of these methods and 
that of the Bell-Lancastrian method." 1820, 



208 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

consider best, to be used in their province, and from their list 
the teachers choose such as they approve. In private schools 
the teacher selects his own books, but he must report a list of 
them to the inspector. 

There are two normal schools for the education of teachers 
for the primary schools, one at Groningen, established by the 
society for public utility, the other at Haarlem,* by the govern- 
ment. Formerly all instructors were prepared in the different 
primary schools. They began to teach as early as twelve 
years of age, attending the evening school to make up their 
loss of time during the day. At sixteen they had served their 
"ilipprenliceship, and were admissible to the fourth grade of 
teachers. This method prevails still to a considerable extent, 
but as it has been found to produce rather routine than inteUi- 
gent teaching, the two normal schools have been established 
to supply the defect. 

The mafen'rtZ of elementary intellectual instruction consists in 
most countries of reading, w-riting, arithmetic, and a knowledge 
of the mother tongue, to which the geography of the country, 
and sometimes general geography, natural history, linear draw- 
ing and vocal music are added. Special exercises of the per- 
ceptive and reflective faculties are also included in the more im- 
proved intellectual systems. While the material is thus nearly 
the same, nothing can be more different than the results produced 
by the schools, according to the use which is made of it. In 
some the means are mistaken for the end, and if the pupil is en- 
abled to read, write, and cypher mechanically, the school is 
supposed to have done its duty. In others these branches are 
employed as the means of developing the intellect as well as 
for the communication of useful knowledge; according as one 
or the other view is taken, the instruction is arranged in con- 
formity with it. In Holland the intellectual methods of Pesta- 
lozzi have taken deep root, and the enlightened state of public 
opinion, in regard to elementary education, prevents in a great 
degree a mechanical system of teaching. 

» Estabhslad m 1816. 



PRIMARY SCHOOLS OF HOLLAND. 209 

The plan of the school foi- the poor at the Hague, to which 
I now proceed, will justify this remark. To render it clear, 
I shall, even at the risk of dwelling rather long upon it, present 
first the essential features of the instruction; next show the 
chief steps in the entire course, from which a just idea of the 
character of the whole of it can be formed, appending to 
this some remarks upon the methods of teaching and the text- 
books: then, by separating the exercises of the classes, and 
attaching to each the number of hours devoted to it per week, 
I shall show that this is no theoretical programme,* but one 
formed for practice; and this will further appear by stating, in 
conclusion, some of the results which I witnessed at an exami- 
nation of the pupils. 

This school, I should remark, though ranking W'ith the best 
of those which I saw in Holland, is not distinguished above 
several others of its class, and in its intellectual character seemed 
to me decidedly below many of the intermediate schools where 
the pupils are less numerous. It is therefore no exaggerated 
statement of what is obtained between the ages of six and 
twelve or fourteen. The subjects of instruction, including intel- 
lectual and moral, are: 

Exercise of the perceptive and reflective faculties. Learning to read accord- 
ing to Prinsen's method, including the spelling of words and the analysis of words 
and simple sentences. The composition of simple sentences with printed letters. 
A knowledge of the different kinds of printed and written letters. Writing from 
dictation, for orthography. Correct reading of prose and poetry. Grammar of 
the Dutch language. Geography of Holland. History of Holland, including its 
chronology. Writing, beginning and ending with writing on the black-board. 
Linear drawing. Arithmetic by induction. Mental and written arithmetic^ 
with a knowledge of tlie Roman numerals. Practical arithmetic, to decimal 
fractions inclusive. The theory of numbers. Moral and religious instruction. 
Vocal music. 

As natural history does not appear either in this programme or 
mothers of primaryf schools, I was at the pains to ascertain if 

* Kindly furnished me by the request of the Inspector-general, M. Wynbeek. 

t It occurs by name as well as physics, upon a list of subjects and books fur- 
nished to me by Mr. Prinsen, at Haarlem, as tliose used in tlie normal school, 
but I did not see it on the list of exercises of the primary schools, 
27 



210 GENERAL EDUCATION. PUIMAnV PERIOD. 

any thing was taught in relation to a branch so eminently cal- 
culated to promote early religious impressions, and found that 
incidentally information was given on the habits of animals, and 
some qf the phenomena of the physical world. It will be ob- 
served that in this school, as in general, physical training forms 
no part of the system. In Holland the gymnastics, so popular 
in Northern Germany, have never been permanently introduced, 
even in the boarding schools. 

The nature and extent of the instruction in the branches enu- 
merated above will be best understood by the following list of 
progressive exercises : 

1. Exercises of thought, reason, and intelligence. 

2. Reading. Prinsen's Reading Tables. Vowels and consonants from the letter- 
box. Composition of words on the reading-board. Explanation of words and 
simple sentences. Spelling from memory. Exercises in reading different printed 
and written characters. Simultaneous reading from a series of books graduated 
to the capacity of the class. Explanation of words met in reading. Composition 
of sentences on the reading-board. Writing from dictation for orthography. 
Correct reading. Composition of simple sentences. 

3. Grammar practically. Conjugation of verbs, t&c. Parsing. 

4. History of Holland and chronology. 

5. Geography of Holland. 

6. Writing. Elements of writing on the black-board. Writing on slates. 
Writing of numbers. Linear drawing. Writing on paper. Writing capital 
letters and large hand. Exercises of writing on the black-board. 

7. Arithmetic by induction. Mental arithmetic. Reading Roman numbers. 
Practical arithmetic. Tables of moneys. Exercises in reading numbers. De- 
cimal fractions. Tables of weights and measures. Theory of arithmetic. Ele- 
ments of form. 

8. Moral and religious instruction, Bible stories, &c, 

9. Singing. 

In giving a short explanation of the exercises just enumerated, 
I shall not confine myself to the methods followed in this par- 
ticular school, with all of which indeed I am not acquainted, 
but give them as in most general use, especially as I saw them 
practised in the schools of Haarlem, which have the advantage 
of immediate contact with the seminary for teachers there, and 
the use of its pupils as sub-teachers. 

The exercises of perception and reflection in frequent use, 



A CHARITY SCHOOL AT THE HAGUE. 211 

are those recommended by Ewald,^_ and consist of a selection 
from various authors, as well as of many subjects on which the 
teacher is expected to be informed. The instruction is given 
orally, according to the following outline: The child is taught 
to observe and to speak correctly, by referring to objects 
which are about him.f Knowledge of colours. Of some va- 
rieties of form, as round, square, 6z:c. Naming of words of 
similar and contrary significations.J Meaning of verbs in com- 
mon use. Numerating by cubes. Knowledge of coins of the 
country and their relative values. Division of time. To tell 
the time by a watch. To distinguish the true from the false. 
Questions on nature and art.§ Qualities of resemblance and 
distinction. Compound expressions, as "good day," "besides," 
&c. Witty sayings. Points of the compass. Lessons on 
weights and measures. On different metals. Articles of fur- 
niture in common use. Different daily occupations. The four 
ages of man. Different ranks of society. Proverbs and phrases. 
Riddles and charades. Fables. Honourable and dubious ac- 
tions. Explanations of words. 

Systems, in my opinion better than those of Lohr, are in use 
in Germany, but this enumeration shows what in general these 
exercises are in the Dutch schools. 

The arrangements for teaching reading, according to Prin- 

* Korte handleiding voor liet Ondcrvvijs der Jcugd, &c., door Johann Ludwig 
Ewald, gelieel omgewerkt en met aantcekeningcn vernieerderd. (Amsterdam, 
1826.) From the German, with revision and additions. 

t Pestalozzi's Book for Mothers is referred to. I had an interesting example 
of the entire want of previous instruction of a class of children of six years of 
age, who had just entered an intermediate school at Haarlem. They had received 
their first lesson in the morning, that of keeping quiet, and in the afternoon, the 
teacher, to show mc the materials upon which he had to work, gave a lesson of 
induction. The children did not know the meaning of the words right and left. 
The front of the head from the back. And when taught to know the right hand 
from the left, could not tell the right eye from the left. Reading is taught in 
from nine to twelve months, to sucli pupils, by the phonic method applicable to 
the Dutch language. 

X Lohr's " Food for the Understanding," translated from the German, is the 
manual referred to by the teachers. 

{ Lohr's work is used as a guide to many of the exercises which fullow. 



212 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

sen, are a spelling and reading-board to be presently described, 
reading-tables or progressive lessons printed and pasted upon 
boards, and a series of readi*ng-books, beginning with the simple 
vowel sounds and rising to stories for children who have a fa- 
cility in reading. There is a manual also for the teacher to 
guide his lessons. The reading-board* consists of a centre 
piece with horizontal grooves, or raised ledges forming grooves 
between them, into which small wooden prisms, having letters 
marked, or printed letters pasted upon them, may be placed. 
The vowels are arranged in compartments on one side of 
the centre-piece, and the consonants on the other. The letter- 
prisms have the same letter in different characters, capitals 
and small letters, on four faces of the prism. This reading 
machine admits of a great variety of exercises in the mechani- 
cal arrangements concerned, in which the pupil takes part, such 
as composing simple words and sentences, and forming words 
from the letters composing them, which have been purposely 
disarranged. The reading-tables of progressive lessons are for 
the purposes of varying the exercises, of employing a number 
of children actively at the same time, and for habituating them 
to letters of the ordin^y size. They are nine in number, be- 
ginning with single vowel?, and terminating with words con- 
taining several compound sounds. All the combinations of let- 
ters used form words, as in Mr. Wood's plan, and the teacher 
is careful to require an explanation of every word as it occurs. 
Prinsen's Primer enables the teacher to exercise the intelligence 
of the pupil, and to give a pleasing variety to his instruction. 
There are pictures attached to each letter, representing some 
object or action, the word referring to which contains the vowel 
sound to be taught. The teacher draws from the pupil a de- 
scription of the object or action, and when he has obtained the 
right word, makes the child remark the sound of the letters. 
Of course, these sounds are not the arbitrary names of the let- 



* Prixisen, in his book on the methods of teaching to read, " Te leeren l^zen," 
jittributes the invention of tlie reading-board to Dellebarre. 



PRIMARY SCHOOLS OF HOLLAND. 213 

ters, and hence this method, to distinguish it from the spelh'ng 
method, is called "phonic" (lautir). The reading-machine and 
primer are used in conjunction. When the pupil has reached 
the " first reading-book," the teacher reads aloud, that the for- 
mer, by following, may receive ideas of emphasis. The read- 
ing-books contain stories entirely adapted to the comprehension 
of children, giving them ideas of common trades and opera- 
rations, of moral sentiments, of nature, of the biographies of 
the worthies of Holland, familiar letters, &c. They contain 
various forms of printed and written alphabets. 

In learning to write, beginning upon the slate or board, one 
of the pupils composes a word upon the reading-board with 
written letters; then all name the sounds, and copy the forms 
upon their slates. In some schools, elementary forms are first 
taught, and the letters of large hand next written. In others, 
small hand is made the basis; and in the school for the poor at the 
Hague, the teacher has ingeniously sifted out the elements of a 
current small hand, and begins with them. From the best 
examination I could give these methods, it appeared to me 
that the hand begun by small letters was not so good as that 
begun by large ones. 

A specimen of the method of teaching geography will be 
seen by following the outline of Prinsen's Description of Haar- 
lem, used as a guide to the teachers of that place. It begins 
with the elementary notions of the manner of representing a 
country on a map, the points of the compass, &c. Then fol- 
lows the position of the town, its size and the character of its 
environs, number of its inhabitants, most remarkable buildings, 
the divisions of the town, the gates, principal canals and streams, 
principal streets, and particulars relating to remarkable build- 
ings in them, and minute descriptions of the more important 
places in the several wards, from the first to the sixth. After 
thus becoming acquainted with the geography of the town and 
its environs, that of Holland follows. In some schools, the old 
method is still in use. 

Arithmetic is chiefly taught according to Pestalozzi's me- 



Si 4 GENERAL tIDUCATlOPr. PRIMAUV PERIOD. 

ihod, cubical blocl^s being used for numeration. These have 
been superseded, in some countries, by the arithmetical frame 
spoken of before, which answers the same purpose of ad- 
dressing the eye, while its use is more convenient than that of 
the cubes. The method is by induction. The first lesson 
teaches to combine three units, variously, by addition. The 
second, to reckon these forwards or backwards. The third, to 
name them from the middle. Then ideas of comparison, as of 
greater or less numbers, up to three units. Of differences, of 
how many times unity must be repeated to make two or three, 
or elementary ideas of subtraction, of multiplication, and of 
division. The same course of lessons is repeated, increasing 
the number of cubes (units) up to ten. Next follows ideas of 
even and uneven numbers, and of the result of their combina- 
tions, reaching as. high as fifteen. Counting by units, by twos, 
by threes, and following the same steps as in the earlier lessons. 
Counting by twos and threes, by ones and threes, &c. and always 
repeating the same train. A similar course is followed in reckon- 
ing up to twenty, adding counting by fours, by threes and fours, 
by twos and fours, by ones and fours, and a similar series 
by fives. This course is kept up as long as necessary, and 
from the insight it gives, from the very beginning, into the 
theory of arithmetic, a judicious teacher will be amply repaid 
for the somewhat tedious repetition of the earlier steps, by the 
facility of the later progress. The various exercises in arith- 
metic are fully detailed in the programme of the Hague school, 
already given. The elements of form are also taught accord- 
ing to Pestalozzi. 

The results of the moral and religious instruction communi- 
cated in and out of school, are fully shown in the character of 
the people of Holland; and these must be deemed satisfactory. 
Sectarian instruction is carefully kept out of the schools, while 
the historical parts of the Bible and its moral lessons are fully 
dwelt upon. There are various collections of Bible stories for 
this purpose, which are commented on by the teacher, and all 
the incidental instruction, so important in a school, has the same 



PRIMARY SCHOOLS OF HOLLAND. 215 

tendency. Doctrinal instruction is given, according to an ar- 
rangement made with the churches of the various denomina- 
tions when the school law was promulgated; this instruction is 
imparted out of the school, on the half-holidays and Sundays. 
Sometimes, when, as at the Hague, the pupils nearly all belong 
to one communion, a catechist attends at the school; but even 
then, only those children whose parents wish it are present at 
the exercises. 

Music is taught by note, and most of the schools have a 
black-board with the ledger lines painted in white or red upon 
it, to assist the teacher. The songs arc of very various charac- 
ters, as moral, religious, patriotic, grave, gay, and loyal; and 
very considerable attainment is made in vocal music. 

I return now to the school of the Hague, to give an account 
of the manner in which the various exercises are accomplished, 
within the six or eight years devoted to elementary instruction. 
As the law requires but three classes in each school, these are 
sub-divided. Each division is, in fact, a separate class, with a 
distinct course of study, and an industrious pupil can pass 
through one division each year. The number of hours marked, 
are those devoted per. week to the several subjects. 

FIRST, OR LOWEST CLASS. 

FIRST DIVISION. 

Ho«rs. 

Exercises of thought and reason, - - - ' - - - 2 

Prinsen's Tables, 6 

Vowels and consonants from the letter-box, 1 

Composition of words on the reading-board, .... 3 

General exercises with the letter-box, 1 

Spelling from memory, -- 1 

Explanation of words and sentences, 2 

Simultaneous reading from books, 4 

Individual reading, .........1 

Reading different printed characters, 1 

Mental arithmetic, 1 

Exercises in arithmetic, ... ..... 2 

Learning Roman and Arabic numerals, ..... 1 

Sitting quiet, -1 

Exercises of thought and reason, continued, ..... 2 



216 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 



SECOND DIVISION. 

Hours. 

Vowels and consonants from the letter-box, continued, - - 1 

Spelling- from memory, continued, ...... 3 

Explanations of words and sentences, continued, ... - 3 

Simultaneous reading- from books, continued .... 

Composition of sentences on the reading-board, .... 

Reading written characters, ....... 

Writing on the black-board, ....... 

Arithmetic by induction, continued, ...... 

Mental arithmetic, continued, ....... 

Writing and reading numbers, ....... 

Reading Roman numerals, ........ 

Elements of form, 

Sitting quiet, .......... 

THIRD DIVISION. 

Exercises of thought and reason, continued, .... 

Spelling from memory, continued, ...... 

Explanation of words and sentences, continued, .... 

Simultaneous reading from books, continued, .... 

Composition of sentences on the reading-board, continued. 

Writing on the black-board, continued, 

Reading written characters, continued, ..... 

Grammar, the conjugations, 

Writing on slates, ......... 

Writing out verses to learn by rote, 

Linear drawing, 

Arithmetic by induction, continued, ...... 

Mental arithmetic, continued, ....... 

Practical arithmetic, ......... 

Writing and reading numbers, continued, ..... 

Reading Roman numerals, continued, ...... 

Elements of form, continued, ....... 

Tables of coins, ....-----. 

Catechism, .....-----. 

SECOND CLASS. 



FIRST DIVISION. 

Exercises of thought and reason, continued, - 
Analysis of sentences, ... - - 
Explanation of words and sentences, continued, 
Composition of sentences, continued, 
Simultaneous reading, continued, 



A PRIMARY SCHOOL AT THE HAGUE. 217 

Hours. 

Correct reading, ..--.1 

Parsing-, ...........1 

Writing on slates, ...-2 

Writing small hand on paper, . 5 

Mental arithmetic, continued, 1 

Practical arithmetic, continued, .......2 

Tables of coins, continued, ........1 

Elements of form, continued, 1 

Linear drawing, continued, 1 

Moral and religious instruction, continued, 1 

Singing, 1 

SECOND DIVISION. 

Exercises of thought and reason, continued, . . . . , 1 

Simultaneous reading from books, continued, .... 5 

Correct reading, continued, ... ... 1 

Composition of sentences, continued, 1 

Writing on the slate, continued, 1 

Writing on paper, continued, 4 

Writing capital letters, 1 

Linear drawing, continued, 1 

History of Holland, 1 

Geography of Holland, 1 

Arithmetic by induction, continued, 1 

Mental arithmetic, continued, -1 

Practical arithmetic, continued, - 3 

Rules of arithmetic, I 

Decimal fractions, - 1 

Elements of form, continued, ....... 1 

Moral and religious instruction, continued, I 

Vocal music, continued, -1 

THIRD CLASS. 

Exercises of thought and reason, continued, 1 

Simultaneous reading, continued, 1 

Correct reading of prose and poetry, 1 

Writing from dictation for orthography, 2 

Grammar, continued, ...1 

History of Holland, continued, ......-- 1 

Chronology of Holland, 1 

Geography of Holland, - - 2 

Writing of small hand from copy -slips, ..... 2 

Writing capital letters and figures, ...... 1 

Writing on black-board, ........ 1 

28 



218 GENERAL EDUCATION. ELEMENTAllY PERIOD. 

HuUi'». 

Mental arithmetic, continued, - - 1 

Pi'actical ditto, ditto, ....... 4 

Rules of ditto, ditto, .......3 

System of weights and measures, 1 

Theory of numbers, 1 

Moral and religious instruction, continued, 1 

Catechism, continued, .........1 

Vocal music, continued, ........1 

The half-yearly examination of the pupils, at which I was 
present, enabled mc to hear their progress in arithmetic with 
the cubes, in reading and speUing, in forming words and sen- 
tences, in numerating written numbers, making Roman nume- 
rals, in higher reading, in the elements of form, in higher arith- 
metic, in mental arithmetic, in the geography of Holland, and 
in vocal music. Their attainments in these brandies were, in 
general, quite respectable, and in some of them very satisfac- 
tory indeed. 

The system of weights and measures is taught in the schools 
of Holland, not only by learning tables, but by reference to the 
standards themselves, a complete set of copies of which is ex- 
pected to be preserved in every school. The advantages of 
this method are very great. 

The branches taught in the schools for the poor are carried 
further in the burgher schools. Thus the course of grammar 
is extended, and general history and geography are added. 
The essentials are, however, the same, and there is no new 
train of study. 

The instruction in the, so called, French schools, may be 
illustrated by that in the one established by the school-com- 
mittee of Utrecht. This school consists of three divisions: two 
for boys and one for girls. Of those for boys, the first is a 
Dutch elementary school, which takes its pupils at about five 
years of age, and carries them through a course very similar 
to that alicady described.* At from ten to eleven they pass 

* I was much pleased to see tiic mctliod of teaching gcograjihy by delineating 
maps on the black-board in use in this school. The master himself must be 
practiced in the art, in order that the pupils may learn by imitation, 



PRIMARY SCHOOLS OF HOLLAND. 219 

to the French school. Here they make further attainments 
in the Dutch language, study general geography and history 
in detail, carry their arithmetic further, and begin algebra, 
continue the course of geometry, make greater progress in 
the theory and practice of music, and, above all, study the 
French language grammatically, and, by using it as the lan- 
guage of recitation, and learning much of the other branches 
through its medium, acquire a great facility in speaking it. In 
some of these schools physics and natural history are taught, 
and Latin is begun by those who intend to enter the Grammar 
School* 

* As, for example, in an admirable private school by Mr. Tip, at Utrecht. 
The school of the committee just referred to is also called private, not being 
supported by the public funds, but its plan is prescribed by the committee. 



220 UttPfERAL EDUCATIOJf. PRIMARY PERIOD- 



CHAPTER V. 



SYSTEM OF PRIMARY INSTRUCTION AND SCHOOLS OF PRUSSIA. 

Of the primary schools in the different states of Germany 
which I visited, those of Prussia, and of the smaller states in its 
immediate neighbourhood, struck me most favourably. After 
giving a sketch of the system of public instruction in Prussia, 
I shall proceed to an account of certain of its primary schools: 
then notice some of the primary schools of Saxony, pre- 
facing the account by a few words on its system of public 
instruction; next describe the model primary school of the 
town of Frankfort on Maine; and, finally, conclude the sub- 
ject of the primary period by an account of the school method 
of Graser of Bayreuth, in Bavaria. The organization of pri- 
mary instruction in general, in Bavaria, is not such as to de- 
mand a special notice. 

It is a very general impression, that the present primary 
school system of Prussia is of comparatively recent date, or 
that it has been, within twenty years, recast and moulded into 
its present form.* The fact however is, that it is a system 

* This impression is derived, as well as I can trace it, from the Report on the 
State of Public Instruction in Prussia, <&:.c., by M. Victor Cousin. M. Cousin 
quotes largely from, and comments upon, "the legislative project of 1819, which 
has the force of law, and regulates the present order of things throughout the 
country." (American edition of Report, &c., p. 25.) He speaks so often of " the 
law of 1819," that it never occurred to me to doubt that there was such a law, 
until I came to consult authorities, namely, the authorized collection of laws on 
primary instruction, by Dr. Neigebaur, (Sammlung der auf den Oft'entlichen 
Untcrricht in den KOnigl. Preuss Staaten sich beziehenden Verordnungen, &c,, 
1826.) (Das Volks-Schuhvesen in den Preussischen Staaten, 1834), and the An- 
nual of Common School Instruction, by Dr. Beckedorff. (Jahrbiicher dcs Preus- 
sischen Volks-Schulwesens.) In neither of them is a general law on public in- 
struction of the date of 1819, or notice of such a law, to be found, and some of 
the provisions enumerated by M. Cousin arc not contained in any of tiie decrees 



SYSTEM OF PRIMARY IRTSTRUCTION" IN PRUSSIA. 221 

composed of fragments of very different dates, beginning in 
tiie Mark of Brandenburg, before the kingdom of Prussia ex- 
isted, and variously modified from that time to the present. It 
is one of the peculiar merits of the system, that its provisions 
have, for the most part, been tried on a small scale before they 
have been applied to the whole country, and that when a pro- 
vision has, on trial, proved ill devised, it has been promptly mo- 
dified or annulled. Prussia seems, for a series of years, to have 
possessed patriotic and enlightened citizens, who have devoted 
themselves to the cause of public instruction, and monarchs 
who have duly estimated and encouraged their exertions in 
this cause. 

I propose to sketch some of the earlier measures, in regard 
to primary instruction, in chronological order, to establish the 
point as to the early date of many important regulations now 
in operation; then to give a short account of the most im- 
portant provisions of existing laws, attaching to each the date 
at which it appears in the statute-book, so that the chronologi- 
cal order may still be ascertained. 

As early as the reign of the Elector Joachim the Second 
(1540), visiters were appointed to inspect the town schools of the 

actually given, while many are in decrees antecedent, and others in decrees 
subsequent to 1819. These and other German authorities are, besides, directly 
opposed to the existence of such a law. Neigebaur, in the preface of his work 
published in 1834, expressly says that no general law exists. "The progress 
of the important department of public instruction has hitherto rendered it im- 
possible to make a general law in relation to public instruction in Prussia. All 
the important measures, up to this time, are contained in separate ordinances, 
which, as the older collections have become obsolete by this progress, must be 
compiled anew for the use of teachers and officers." Mr. Thiersch, of Munich, 
in his work on the present condition of public instruction in certain states of 
Germany, (Uber den gegcnwartigen Zustand des Offentlichen Unterrichts in den 
westlichcn Staaten von Deutschland, &c., von Friedrich Thiersch, 1833,) says, 
in speaking of Prussia, " In a decree in relation to public instruction in 1817, a 
general school system had been promised," * * • * " but this royal pro- 
mise has remained unfulfilled for eighteen years." 

The numerous writers out of Germany, who speak on this subject, have evi- 
dently drawn their conclusions that the law of 1819 is in existence, from M. Cou- 
sin's authority, and hence cannot be considered as giving independent testimony 
on the matter. 



222 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

Electorate, with express directions to report in relation to the 
measures deemed necessary for their improvement.* In 1545 
the same elector appointed a permanent council, or board, on 
church and school matters. In a decree of some length by the 
elector John George (1573), special sections are devoted to the 
schools, to teachers and their assistants, and to pupils. It is 
remarkable as containing a provision for committees of super- 
intendence, consisting of the parish clergyman, the magistrates, 
and two notables, exactly similar in constitution to the present 
school-committees. It provides also for Sunday catechetical 
instruction of children. 

In 1717 a decree of Frederick William the First, King of 
Prussia, enjoins upon parents to send their children to school, 
provides for the payment of teachers, for the education of poor 
children, and for catechetical instruction by the parochial clergy- 
men.f In 1735 the first regular seminary for teachers in 
Prussia was established at Stettin, in Pomerania.J To induce 
a better attendance at school, a decree of 1736 requires that 
the parent of every child between five and twelve years of 
age shall pay a certain fee, whether his child goes to school 
or not ; this rule being, as it were, preliminary to the present 
one of forced attendance.^ The same decree refers to school- 
houses erected by associated parishes, showing that such asso- 
ciations existed previously to the decree for providing public 
schools; similar associations may even now exist, but they are 
not numerous, forming exceptions to the general rule, requiring 
each parish to have its public school. The decree provides 
further for the amount of fees to be paid to the teacher by the 
pupils, the church, or the state, and for aid to peasants who 

* Beckedorff Jahrbiicher dcs Preussischcn Volks-Schulwescns. Zweiter 
Band. Erst. Heft. Beckedorff't^ x\nnual of Common Scliools in Prussia, vol. ii.. 
No. 1, pp. 18, 19, &.C. t ll.id., p. 30. 

t Ibid., p. 32. Dr. KrOgcr, of Hamburgh, says, in reply to my inquiries on this 
subject, that imperfect cstablisiimcnts existed as carl)^ as 1G80 in Gotlia, Wescl, 
and Brunswick, and as early as 1701 at Konigsbcrg. 

() Das Volk Schuhvcsen in den Prcuss. Staaten, &c., von Dr. Johann Ferdi- 
nand Neigebaur, 1834. Neigebanr's Collection of Decrees, &o., rel;iling to 
Common Schools, &c., 1834, p. 1. 



SYSTEM OF PRIMARY INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA, 223 

have more than two children above five years of age, by the 
payment of the fees of all over this number from a school 
fund.* A rescript of 1738 constitutes the clergy the inspectors 
of schools.f 

An attempt to provide more precisely, by law, for the regu- 
lation of the schools in Berlin, was made by a decree of 1738. 
This decree requires that teachers shall be regularly examined 
by the inspectors of schools, before being allowed to teach, 
and prescribes their acquirements in detail. It directs the open- 
ing and closing of the schools with prayers; fixes the hours of 
daily attendance at from eight to eleven or seven to ten in the 
morning, and one to three in the afternoon; prescribes instruc- 
tion in spelling, reading, writing, arithmetic, and singing, and 
regulates the emoluments and perquisites of the master.J 

A new impulse was given to public instruction under the 
reign of Frederick the Great. The regulations drawn up by 
Hecker,§ and approved by the king (1763), are very precise, 
and though they have been in part superseded by later decrees, 
many of their provisions are still in force. They provide for the 
selection of school-books by the consistor}^; that children shall be 
sent to school at five years of age, and be kept there until thir- 
teen or fourteen, or until they have made satisfactory attain- 
ments in reading and writino;, in the knowledjre of Christian 
doctrine, and of such matters as are to be found in their text- 
books ; fix the school hours, requiring six hours a-day of instruction 
in winter, and three in summer, and one hour of catechetical 
instruction, besides the Sunday teaching; require that all unmar- 
ried persons of the parish shall attend the hour of instruction in 
the catechism, and besides, receive lessons in reading and writing 
from the Bible. The regulations provide anew for the school- 
masters' fees, and for the instruction of poor children; require 
that the school-master shall be furnished from the church regis- 
ter with a list of all the children of the age to attend school. 

* Das Volk Scluilwescn in den Prcuss. Staatcn, &c., von Dr. Johann Fcrdi- 
Hand Ncigebaur, 1834. Neigebaur's CoIIcclirni of Decrees, &c., relating to Com- 
mon Schools, &e., 1834, p. 1, &c. + Ibid. p. 3. 

1 Beckcdorfl'V Annual, vol. ii., p. 33. f} Ibid., p. 38. 



224 GEIfERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

and that he shall prepare a list of those who are actually in 
attendance, and submit both to the clergyman, in his periodical 
visits; direct anew the examination of candidates for the situa- 
tion of school-master, and refer particularly to the advantages of 
the seminary opened at Berlin for preparing teachers for the Mark 
of Brandenburg; lay down minutely the scheme of elementary 
instruction, and actually specify the time to be devoted to the 
different branches with each of the two classes composing the 
school ;* require the parochial clergy to visit the schools twice a 
week, and inspectors of circles to perform the same service at 
least once a year. 

The decree of Frederick regulating the Catholic schools of 
Silesia (1765), is even more particular than the foregoing. It 
shows the settled policy in regard to educating teachers in 
special seminaries, now so important a part of the Prussian sys- 
tem, by setting apart certain schools by name for this purpose, 
requiring the appointment of a director to each, and assigning 
his dutics.f 

In 1787 Frederick WiUiam the Second created a council of 
instruction, under the title of an "Upper School Board," (Ober 
Schul-CoUegium,) of which the minister of state was president. 
This council was directed to examine text-books, and to pass upon 
the licenses of masters, on the reports of the provincial school 
boards. They were authorized to erect seminaries for teachers at 
the government expense, and to frame their regulations; to send 
out an inspector from their body to examine any part of public 
instruction, and to rectify all wrongs by a direct order, or through 
the school boards of the provinces, the school-committees, or 
patrons.J This organization remained substantially in force 
until the separation of the departm.ents of state and instruction 
in 1817, with the creation of a ministry of public instruction. 

* Neigebaur of 1834, p. 5, &c. 

t Ibid. p. 18. This decree contains the remarkable sentence, " The gentry, as 
well as the common people, must not consider or treat the teacher as a Bcrvant, 
but as an officer, whose duty it is to form good tenants for landlords, and chil- 
dren for parents." 

t Bcckedorff 's Annual, vol. ii., p. 45. 



SYSTEM OF PRIMARY INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. 225 

The attributes of this upper school board, it will be seen, now 
belong to that council 

The school plan of 1763 was modified by an ordinance of 
1794, which introduces geography and natural history in the 
elementary schools, and refers to vocal music as one of their 
most important exercises; it also attempts, by minute prescrip- 
tions, to introduce uniformity in the methods of instruction and 
discipline.* The regulation for the catholic schools of Silesia was 
also revised in ISOl.f 

Having now brought this chronological account to the be- 
ginning of our century, and shown that many provisions of 
weight originated previous to this period, I proceed, according 
to the purpose already explained, to leave the chronological 
order, and to give a view of the more important regulations now 
in force, appending to them the date of their enactment. These 
dates, with the foregoing, show, that while the separation of the 
ministry of public instruction from that of the state, in 1817,. 
no doubt gave a new impulse to the present system, and was 
an important change in administration, it was by no means 
the beginning of a new system. This division, in fact, resulted 
from the effects of the earlier provisions of the system itself, 
and especially of the seminaries for teachers. As early as 1806, 
a measure of great consequence was adopted, that of sending 
teachers to the school of Pestalozzi and others ; many, also, 
went at their own expense; and thus improved methods were 
distributed over the kingdom and over Germany in general.^ 

The authorities which administer uiblic instruction in Prussia 
are the following : The chief authority is the minister, who joins 
to this supervision that of ecclesiastical and medical affairs.^ 

* Neigebaur of 1834, p. 71, &c., No. 29. t Ibid., No. 8, p. 41, &c. 

t Dr. KrOger gives me the names of several men now high in the duties of 
public instruction, (Kawerau, Hoffman, Hiensch, Kunze, Plomann,) which fully 
bear out my assertion. Letter of 22d May, 1838. Dr. K. was also one of 
these teachers. 

(j Cabinet order of November 3, 1817. Frederick William tlie Third. (Neigc 
baur, 1834, p. 186, »Si-c.) The duties of the section of public instruction and re- 
ligious affairs of the state council were already defined in 1810, (Neigebaur, 
p. 177, &c.) 

29 



226 GENERAL EDUCATlOiV. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

He is assisted by a council consisting of a variable number of 
members, and divided into three sections corresponding to the 
three charges of the minister. The section for public instruc- 
tion has its president and secretary, and meets usually twice a 
week for the transaction of business. One of this body is gene- 
rally deputed as extraordinary inspector in cases requiring ex- 
amination, and reports to the minister.* The kingdom of Prussia 
is divided into ten provinces, each of which has its governor, 
styled Superior President, (Ober-President,) who is assisted by 
a council called a Consistory, (Consistorium.)f This council 
has functions in the province similar to those of the ministerial 
council in the kingdom at large, and has direct control of se- 
condary public instruction, and of the schools for the education 
of primary teachers.J It is subdivided into two sections, of 
which one has charge of the primary instruction in the pro- 
vince,§ under the title of the School Board, (Provincial Schul- 
CoUegium.) The school board, in addition to exercising the 
general supervision of education in the province, examines the 
statutes and regulations of the schools, insures the execution of 
existing laws and regulations, examines text books, and gives 
permission for their introduction after having obtained the ap- 
probation of the ministry. This Board communicates with the 
higher authorities through their president, to whom the reports 
from the next lower authority, to be presently spoken of, are- 
addressed, and by whom, when these relate to school matters, 
they are referred to the Board for examination. || 

The next smaller political division to a province is called a 
Regency, (Regierungs-Bezirk,) which is again subdivided into 
Circles, (Kreisen,) and those into Parishes, (Gemeinden.) The 
chief civil authority in the regency is a president, who is assisted 
by a council called also a regency. 

This body is divided into three sections, having charge re- 
spectively of the internal afiairs, of direct taxes, and of church 

* BeckedorfTs Annual, vol. ii., p. 86. + Neigcbaur, 18.34, p. 179. 

t Neigebaur of 1834. Instructions for Provincial School Boards, October 23, 
1817, p. 179. Cousin, Public Instruction in Prussia, p. 20, American edition. 
§ Neigebaur of 1834, p. 188-9. || Ibid., p. 179, &c. 



SYSTEM OF PRIMARY INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. 227 

and school matters.* The last named committee examines 
and appoints all the teachers of elementary and burgher schools 
within the regency, superintends the schools, ascertains that 
the school-houses and churches are duly kept in order, ad- 
ministers the funds of schools and churches, or superintends 
the administration when vested in corporations, and collects 
the church and school fees.f This committee is presided over 
by a member of the regency called a School-councillor, (Schul- 
rath.) As councillor, he has a seat and voice in the provincial 
consistory, where he is required to appear at least once a year, 
and to report upon their affairs in his regency, of which the 
provincial consistory has the superintendence.^ It is also his 
duty to visit the schools, and to satisfy himself that they are in 
good condition. 

The next school authority is the inspector of a circle, who 
has charge of several parishes.^ These inspectors are gene- 
rally clergymen, while the school-councillors are laymen. Next 
below the special superintendents is the immediate authority, 
namely, the school-committee, (Schul-Vorstand.) Each parish 
(Gemeinde) must, by law, have its school, except in special 
cases,l| and each school its committee of superintendence, (Schul- 
Vorstand,) consisting of the curate, the local magistrate, and 
from two to four notables; the constitution of the committee 
varying somewhat with the character of the school, whether 
endowed, entirely supported by the parish, in part by the pro- 
vince or state, or by subscription. The committee appoints a 
school-inspector, who is usually the clergyman of the parish.l 
In cities, the magistrates form the school-committee or school- 
deputation, as it is there called, the curates still acting as local 
inspectors. 

* Neigebaur of 1834, Instructions of 31st December, 1825, p. 189. 
t Ibid., Instruction for the Regencies, October, 1817, p. 183, &c. 
t Ibid., Ordinance of 1815, p. 179. 

§ School Regulations, Neigebaur of 1834, p. 5, &c.. No. 6. 
II Neigebaur of 1826. Order, &.c., June, 1820, p. 181, and previous decrees, all 
pointing to the same result. 

^ Nfigcbaur of 1834. Cabinet Order of 1812, p. 19.5. 



228 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

Thus there is a regular series of authorities, from the niaster 
of the school up to the minister, and every part of primary in- 
struction is entirely within the control of an impulse from the 
central government, and takes its direction according to the 
will of the highest authorities. With such a system, under a 
despotic government, it is obvious that the provisions of any 
law may be successfully enforced. 

The cardinal provisions of the school system of Prussia are: 

First. That all children between the ages of seven and four- 
teen years shall go regularly to school.* This is enforced by 
the school-committees, who are furnished with lists of the chil- 
dren who should attend, and of those actually in the schools 
under their charge, and who are required to enforce the penal- 
ties of the law. 

Second. That each parish shall, in general, have an elemen- 
tary school. When the inhabitants are of different religious 
persuasions,! each denomination has its school, and if not, pro- 
vision is made for the religious instruction of the children by 

* Royal Prussian General Regulations for the Schools of the Country. (Neige- 
baur of 1826, p. 126.) Five years is named as the period for beghnning school, but 
Beven is that when the police regulations render the attendance obligatory. See 
also Neigebaur of 1S34. Cabinet Order of 1825, p. 64. M. Cousin calculates 
the number of children between the ages of seven and fourteen in Prussia, in 
1831, at 2,043,030, and shows, from the returns of the number of pupils in the 
different i)rimary scliools, that 2,021,421 were in actual attendance, leaving but 
21,609 to be accounted for by the children educated in private schools, at home, 
and in the lower classes of the gymnasia. The latter, in 1832, amounted to 
17,935. (Cousin's Report, Amer. Edit. p. 311), Nearly one-sixth of the entire 
population of the kingdom would thus appear to be in the schools. The ratio, 
however, varies exceedingly in different parts of the kingdom; in the provinces of 
Saxony, Silesia, and Brandenburg, the proportion was, in 1831, higher than one- 
sixth, while, in the Rhenish provinces, it was one-seventh, and in Poscn, as low 
as one-eleventh. (KrOger's Appendix to his Transl. of Cousin, p. 213.) The 
number is swelled to that stated above, the sixth of the entire population, by the 
introduction into the account of children under seven years of age: tlie pupils of 
the infant-schools, the work-schools, orphan as3'lums, &c., being included under 
the head of those who are in the elementary schools. 

t This is easy of accomplishment, as since the union of the Lutherans and 
Calvinists to form the Evangelical church, there are but two divisions, Protest- 
ants and Roman Catholics. 



SYSTEM OF PRIMARY INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. 2*^9 

their own pastors. The erection of the scliool-house, its furni- 
ture, the income of the master, and aid to poor scholars, are all 
provided for. The requisite sum comes, in part, from parochial 
funds, and in part from a tax upon house-holders. When the 
parish is poor, it is assisted by the circle, by the province, and 
even by the state. Besides these elementary schools, most of 
the towns in Prussia have one or more upper primary or burgher 
schools.* 

Third. The education of teachers in seminaries,! adapted 
to the grade of instruction to which they intend devoting them- 
selves. Their exemption during their term of study from active 
military service required of other citizens. A provision for 
their support during their term of study. A preference given 
to them over school-masters not similarly educated. Their ex- 
amination previous to receiving a certificate of capacity, which 
entitles them to become candidates for any vacant post in the 
province where they have been examined. Their subsequent 
exemption from active military service, and even from the an- 
nual drill of the militia, if they cannot, in the opinion of the 
school-inspector, be spared from their duties. Provision for the 
removal of the incompetent or immoral. A provision for the 
support of decayed teachers. 

Fourth. The authorities which regulate the schools and ren- 
der them a branch of the general government, and the teachers 
in fact its officers. In a country hke Prussia, this connexion 
secures to the teacher the respect due to his station, and thus 
facilitates the discharge of his important duties. It gives the 
government, however, almost unlimited control over the schools, 
securing that no principles shall be disseminated in them which 
are not in accordance with the wishes of the central authority, 
and even providing for the propagation among the people of 
those in which it may desire them to be educated. 

* In 1833 there were cijrht luindred and twenty-eight bnrgher scliools in 
Prussia. (KrOger's Appendix to his Trnnsl. of Cousin.) 

t In 1833 there were forfy-three such seminaries in Prussia, attended hy two 
thousand and thirty-six pupils, nnd furnishing- nenriy eig-hf Imndrcd tcncliers 
annually. 



230 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

Having tlius completed a brief sketch of llie system of public 
instruction, I proceed, according to the division made in the 
beginning of this chapter, to describe some of the individual 
schools. It will be seen that the subjects of popular instruction 
are excellent in themselves, and that the methods of teaching 
are in general the most improved. Prussia has certainly set a 
noble example in this respect. It is true that the government 
has provided that the incidentals of instruction, which exert so 
strong an influence on the mind, shall all tend to educate the 
people in sentiments of attachment to the existing order of 
things, but they would have been untrue to their political sys- 
tem had they not done so, and this fact, instead of leading to 
a rejection of the experience of their schools by nations more 
advanced in the true principles of government, should stimulate 
them to a like care in their systems of education.* 

As already stated, the primary schools of Prussia are of two 
kinds, the elementary, and the burgher or middle school. The 
first is not an introduction to the second, as might be supposed 
by its name, but is intended for such children as are to receive 
an elementary education, only remaining at school until thirteen 
or fourteen years of age. These schools in the cities and large 
towns educate the poor, and are frequently designated as poor 
or charity-schools, (Armen-schulen.) The others are intended 
for children whose parents can dispense with their services 
until fifteen or sixteen. Their pupils generally become artisans 
or shopkeepers. 

There are, in fiact, two grades of burgher schools, of which 
the higher, usually found in the cities, besides preparing its 
pupils as just stated, enables them to enter the third class of the 

* It is frequently a question what results have been derived from tliis much 
vaunted system. What has been the effect upon tlie people? To answer this 
accurately would require a long residence in the country; to have known its 
state in past years, and to estimate accurately the causes of any observed changes. 
It is a most difficult question, and I do not pretend to give my results as an an- 
swer, but merely to bear testimony to the superior intellectual and moral con- 
dition of this people to others of the same race, in circumstances otherwise some- 
what similar, but less favoured by education. It is impossible to judge of the re- 
sults which vi'ould bo produced in n country where the press is free, by those of 
Prussia. 



SVSTEM OF PRIMARY I\STRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. 231 

grammar school or gymnasium. The instruction in them is 
altogether better than that in the elementary schools, which 
latter, as far as I saw them, were inferior to those of Holland. 
The lower burgher schools, on the contrary, afford an elevated 
standard of true primary instruction, and Prussia has special 
reason to be proud of the whole class. 

Uniformity of instruction throughout this kingdom would no 
doubt be practicable in a general sense, by means of the sys- 
tem already described. There is, indeed, at present, a close 
approach to uniformity of spirit in the schools and in the sub- 
jects taught. Very wisely, however, the methods of teaching 
are not prescribed, and though a common sentiment among 
the directors of the seminaries for teachers, produces an ap- 
proximation to uniformity of method among the younger mas- 
ters, yet even among these there is some diversity of opinion 
and action. When we speak, then, of uniformity in the Prussian 
schools, it must be understood with great limitations, or we 
give a theoretical view of what might be, instead of a prac- 
tical one of what is. 

PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS OF BERLIN. 

The Prussian system admits of so much license in its minor 
arrangements, that the elementary schools of Berlin, as at pre- 
sent established, vai'y from the parochial system in use in the 
kingdom at large, resulting from a plan proposed to the regency 
by School-counsellor Reichelen, and adopted in 1827. There are 
at present nine public elementary schools in the city, but if the 
classes were confined to seventy-five pupils each, as originally 
intended, fourteen schools would be required, according to the 
calculations of Mr. Reichelen. The number of pupils, however, 
in charge of a single master, is greater than that just stated, 
thereby impairing essentially the efficiency of the schools. 

The masters receive fixed salaries,* the fees which they 



* The salary of the head master of both boys' and girls' schools is two hun- 
dred and twenty-five dollars per annum, besides which he has his lodging and 
certain allowances, amounting to from seventy-five to a hundred and twelve dol- 



232 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

collect being paid over to the school-committee. Of the two 
schools of this kind at Berlin which I visited, one came up to the 
requirements of the law in the branches of instruction, except in 
the omission of linear drawing. In the other, both drawing and 
natural history were omitted. In the first, the branches were: 
1. Religious instruction. 2. Reading. 3. German language. 
4. The geography and history of Prussia. 5. Arithmetic. 
6. Elements of geometry. 7. Weights and measures of the 
country. 8. Natural history. 9. Writing. 10. Singing. In 
none of these schools is the physical education of the pupils at- 
tended to. In each there is a girls' school, separated from that 
of the boys', and giving similar instruction, except that a por- 
tion of the time is occupied in works appropriate to the sex. 

According to rule, these schools should have two classes for 
each sex, the head master teaching the first, and the assistant 
the second; in one, however, the two classes were subdivided, 
forming four. The lowest class learns to read and write a lit- 
tle, and is then promoted. In the school of two classes, the 
lower contained pupils from six to nine and even ten years of 
age, and the upper class pupils from eight and nine to twelve 
and thirteen years. This division is much inferior to that of 
the school for the poor at the Hague, which I have already 
described; it requires the union in one class of pupils in very 
different stages of progress, and renders simultaneous teaching 
almost out of the question. The lower class has twenty-six, 
and the upper thirty-two to thirty-four hours of instruction per 
week, the former having one hour less per day than the latter, 
which is a good arransrement. There is a short interval of 
recess in the morning exercises. 1. The religious instruction 
consists, in all the schools, of Bible history, catechism, and 
reading the Bible. The schools are for Protestants, and the 
Lutheran Catechism is used. 2. The reading is taught by the 
phonic method, already described at length under the head of 

lars. The pupils pay at the minimum three, and at the maximum thirty cents 
per month. In one of the schools which I visited, the fees amounted in all to about 
nine dollars and seventy-five cents per month, the two-fifths of which, forming: 
the master's perquisite, amounted, therefore, to abovit forty-seven dollars a year. 



ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS OF DERLIN. 233 

primary instruction in Holland. In many schools the reading- 
board and letter-blocks are used; in one of those which I visited, 
writing was taught with reading. Exercises of thought and 
speech are interwoven with the elements of reading. The 
reading-books* are various, and combine progressive instruc- 
tion in this branch with incidental information in morals, the 
history of the country, history of the church and of sects, bio- 
graphy, geography, natural history and elementary physics, 
grammar, &c. This incidental method is, however, far from 
giving sufiicient instruction, unless combined with the direct, 
though, by keeping it in view, the exercises in reading are pre- 
vented from degenerating into mere lessons of sounds. From 
the books which are allowed by the highest school authorities 
to be used, the committee of any particular school, after con- 
sulting the master, adopt such as they please, and when the 
teacher wishes a change, he applies to the same authority: 
The list of approved books is always sufficiently large to admil 
of the exercise of the individual judgments of the master and 
committee. The analysis of words and sentences is attended 
to in these schools, and exercises of induction are practised, 
especially where younger masters from the teachers' semina- 
ries are employed. As the method of teaching depends princi- 
pally upon the master, it sometimes varies even in the same 
school. If the precise routine were laid down, the spirit would 
be dil^erent, and thus, at last, it is the kind of education given 
to the teacher which determines the character of the school. It 
may be stated, however, that the instruction is either simulta- 
neous or individual. 3. The German requires no special re- 
mark; it includes instruction in grammar. 4. '^he geogra- 
phy is taught by beginning with an outline of general geo- 
graphy, referring to maps, and learning from books. There is 

* Hcinpel's "Common School Friend," which I found in use in tlic schools, 
appears to mo, in general, to be a good compilation, though the ideas of history 
which it gives arc very limited. The statements in regard to Nortli America 
are, besides, of a kind to lead the child to suppose that the country is still peo- 
pled by red men, who arc without the institutions of the old world, which arc 
enumerated, to show the superior advantages of civilized over savage life, 
30 



234 GENERAL EDUCATIOX. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

a great deficiency in the implements for teaching this branch. 
5. Both mental and written arithmetic are taught. In one of 
the schools, the ground-work is laid according to Pestalozzi's 
method, and the extent of the course is to the single rule of 
three, inclusive. Some of the pupils acquire great facility in 
mental arithmetic, but I have seen better results in this branch 
in the English schools. 6. The geometry consists of the ele- 
ments of form, according to Pestalozzi. 7. The weights and 
measures are taught as in our schools, by committing tables to 
memory, and not, as in Holland, by actual reference to the stan- 
dards themselves. 9. The writing is taught by copying from 
ordinary copy-boards, first on the slate, then on paper. The 
black-board is used in some cases. Writing from dictation is 
resorted to for orthography. The proficiency in this branch 
is, hovi'ever, only tolerable. 10. Vocal music is taught by note, 
and particular attention is paid to church music. The school 
is begun and ended with a psalm or hymn, as well as with 
prayer. 

The ordinary disciphne is conducted without corporal punish- 
ment, though it is allowed in extreme cases. The individuals 
of the classes retain the same places, unless in cases of gross 
neglect, or as a kind of punishment. These places are in some 
schools regulated in the upper classes by a writing-lesson at 
the end of the month, in which correctness in spelling as well 
as neatness of handwriting are taken into the account. 

The arrangements of the school-houses in Berlin, both irir 
terior and exterior, have undergone considerable change of late 
years. The eighth town-school is in a very neat building, and 
the rooms are commodious, and provided with raised platforms 
for the benches and desks; all those, however, occupied by the 
larger classes are defective in ventilation.* 

* Tlie number of children in Berlin requiring nearly or quite gratuitous in- 
struction was reckoned, in 1827, at four thousand five hundred. These are sup- 
posed to be gathered principally in the nine school-houses now erected. One of 
those which I visited contained six hundred children. It is intended to increase 
the number of houses, so as to prevent such an accumulation in any one, three 
liundrcd being the numlwr calculated for each school. 



Elementary schools of berlin. 235 

These schools are reasonably good, and if they were in a 
country less celebrated for the character of its public instruction 
than Prussia, would not call for special remark, but they can 
by no means be held up as having attained all that is possible, 
or even that is required, in establishments of the kind. 

In addition to these charity schools, each of which is common 
to both sexes, there are nine schools of industry (Erwerb- 
schulen) for girls; in these the pupils work, receiving a small 
compensation, besides instruction in the rudiments. There are 
also evening schools, at which the attendance is voluntary, and 
where those who have gone through the elementary courses 
may revise or extend their knowledge.* 

BURGHER OR MIDDLE SCHOOLS. 
These are the higher primary schools already referred to. 
They owe their superiority over the others not only to the 
greater variety of subjects of instruction, and to the greater ex- 
tent to which they are carried, but to various minor advan- 
tages. Among the first of these may be stated the greater 
number of classes, admitting of a nearer equality in the know- 
ledge of the pupils, and hence of more efficient instruction. 
The number of regular classes in these schools is usually from 
four to six, and in the others only two. Next, the number of 
pupils under the charge of one teacher is less than in the ele- 
mentary schools, which is attended with the same effect as just 
stated, especially where individual teaching is attempted, in con- 
nexion with the simultaneous method. In the whole kingdom 

* The number of elementary schools, public and private, in Berlin, is given in 
the census of 1831 at 117, and the pupils in attendance at 13,131. Of burgher- 
schools 80, attended by 7,210 pupils, making 197 primary schools, attended by 
20,341 pupils. Adding 750, the probable number in the lower classes of the 
gymnasia and real schools, wc have 21,091 children between the ages of seven 
and fourteen in the schools. The number of children in Berlin between the ages 
of one day and fourteen years is reported in the same census to be 67,709. Ad- 
mitting that three-sevenths of them are between seven and fourteen years, we 
have 29,019 children, who, according to law, should be in the schools. There 
is, therefore, an unexplained deficiency in the capital of nearly 8000. These 
numbers are taken from the table given in the Supplement to M. Cousin's Report, 
American edition. 



236 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

of Prussia, in 1831, the average number of pupils to one in- 
structor in the elementary schools, was seventy-seven, and in 
the burgher schools, thirty-seven, or less than half the former 
number. Again, the higher salaries paid in these schools secures 
to them, in general, advantages in the choice of teachers not 
possessed by the others, which frequently must be entrusted to 
inferior abilities or experience. There is, further, no doubt, as 
far as observation may be trusted, that the grade of intelligence 
of the children in the burgher schools is higher than in the 
others, their opportunities of domestic culture and the incen- 
tives to exertion are greater, and the intercourse of home 
is usually more improving. All these, and perhaps other 
causes, tend to widen the interval between these classes of 
schools. The connecting link between the higher burgher 
and the elementary schools of the cities, is afibrded by 
the burgher schools of the smaller towns, sometimes called 
lower burgher schools. Both divisions educate the same 
classes of individuals, but the wants, both material and intel- 
lectual, of the tradesman of the small town and of the city are 
very different, and the instruction to which they aspire differs 
essentially. The village tradesman of Prussia is satisfied to be 
able to read and write German, and to cast accounts, while the 
city tradesman of the same class must be better informed in 
these, and add a knowledge of French and some mathematics 
to his elementary acquirements. Besides, the higher burgher 
schools are made to serve as preparatory establishments for 
the gymnasia, and the plan of instruction is modified accord- 
ingly, being in the higher classes so far changed as almost to 
remove them from the sphere of legitimate primary instruction. 
It is the lower class of these schools which appears to me to 
afford a suitable standard for the primary grade, in regard to 
the nature, extent, and methods of instruction, and the classifica- 
tion in general of the school. Divesting the higher schools of 
certain features which do not appear essential, they afford ex- 
cellent models, upon which it would not be too much to ask 
that the primary schools should be arranged, or to the standard 
of which thoy should endeavour to attain. Postponing further 



SEMINARY SCHOOL AT WEISSENFELS. ^S? 

remark on this subject until some ol" tlic individual schools liave 
been described, I proceed to an account of the seminary school 
at Weissenfels, belonging to the lower burgher school class, 
and of three higher burgher schools, presenting varieties of the 
same grade of establishment, namely, the Dorothean higher 
city school, and the seminary school of Berlin, and the higher 
burgher school of Potsdam. I have selected these as charac- 
teristic specimens of the best schools of the kind which I visited, 
and they are all which my limits will permit me to present. 

SEMINARY SCHOOL AT WEISSENFELS. 

This is a higher elementary, or lower burgher school, at- 
tached to the seminary for teachers at Weissenfels, and is under 
the charge of the director of the seminary.* The school is in- 
tended not only for the benefit of the citizens of Weissenfels, 
but also as a model school, in which the pupils of the seminary 
may reduce to practice, under the eye of their teachers, the 
lessons of theory in the art of teaching, which forms an im- 
portant part of the course of the seminary. 

The school has four hundred pupils, male and female. They 
are divided into five classes, in the three lower of which the 
two sexes receive instruction in common, being separated in 
the highest. Each class averages thus eighty under the charge 
of one master, who is, however, assisted by the pupils of the 
seminary. The following table shows the subjects of instruc- 
tion, and the amount of time devoted to each. The whole 
course usually lasts seven years, when the pupil enters at the 
age of six or seven. 

* Dr. Harnisch, one of the most highly esteemed teachers of Germany, to 
whom I am indebted for a MS. account of his seminary, and other valuable do- 
cuments, besides a kind welcome. Dr. H. does not consider liis school a true 
burgher school, (see his work, Die Deutsche Biirgerschule,) but I speak of things 
as they exist, and with names as commonly applied. This school was placed 
under its present director in 1822, wlicu the normal school was re-organized. 
The pupils of the highest class pay but two dollars and seven-five cents per year 
for tuition. 



238 



GF.N'ERAL EDIJCATION. IiVFANT PERIOD, 



Table of tiic distribution of time in tlie " Seminary School" at Weissenfels. 



SUBJECTS 

OF 

INSTRUCTION. 



Religious Instruction, - - 
German Language, - - - 

Reading, 

Inductive Exercises, - - 

Arithmetic, 

Geometry, 

Geog., Hist., Nat. Hist., &c.. 

Writing, 

Drawing, 

Singing, 

Total, 



NO. OF HOURS PER WEEK. 



o 



« 



30 26 



tm 



26 26 



The religious instruction consists in the narration of Bible 
stories and in pointing out the appropriate moral ; in Bible 
history in a more connected form ; in learning Luther's Cate- 
chism, and committing parts of the Bible to memory. The 
pupils are also expected to give an account of the Sunday's 

* This column is calculated on the supposition that the pupil remains in the 
school from six until thirteen years of age, passing througli the lowest class in 
one year, and each of the others in two years. 

t As the instruction in writing and reading is combined, I have placed half of 
the number of hours under each head. 

t Of these eight horns three are combined reading and writing, and two 
»n)]iying- 



SEMINARY SCHOOL AT WEISSEPTFELS. 239 

sermon. The study of German includes the grammar. There 
are exercises specially of orthography and syntax in the upper 
classes. Poetry is also committed to memory. 

The elements of reading and writing are taught together, 
according to Dr. Harnisch's method, already described as in 
use at Halle. In the upper classes the reading-lessons are in- 
tended not only to give fluency in the art of reading, but also 
incidental instruction in grammar and general knowledge. 

Direct exercises of induction are in use only in the lowest 
class. 

The instruction in arithmetic extends through fractions: men- 
tal arithmetic preceding written through all the rules. That of 
geometry consists merely of the elements of form, according to 
Pestalozzi. 

Under geography and history are included both physical and 
political geography and biography. With the physical geo- 
graphy is interwoven an account of the productions of nature 
and art of different countries. In the summer the pupils are 
made acquainted with the botany of the environs, and in winter 
receive lessons upon animals, &c. 

Writing on paper is a matter of privilege attainable by those 
who improve sufficiently. The others write on slates. The 
first lessons in drawing are introductory to writing; afterwards 
it is made a separate branch. 

The higher classes learn music by note, and sing twice a 
week in company with the pupils of the normal school. The 
violin is used in leading the class singing exercises. 

The discipline and instruction are admirable. The teachers 
have little occasion to use punishment. The instruction is 
chiefly given viva voce, and the pupils in general appear inte- 
rested in their studies. A book is kept for the record of delin- 
quencies, which is examined by one of the superior masters 
once a week, and notice taken of the faults recorded. The 
director examines it once a month, and admonishes those who 
need it. Corporal punishment is resorted to only in extreme 
cases. 

According to the views of director Haniisch, as to what a 



240 GENERAL EDUCATIO\. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

true burgher school should be, the pupils who have gone through 
the courses of this school are just fit to enter one, and I must 
express my entire approbation of thus making the elementary 
school merely a step in the general course of education, and 
one which leads to further advance. 

The schools next to be described will be found to vary very 
considerably in their arrangements from this one, forming the 
opposite extreme, as it were, of the class, but a connecting link 
will be supplied by the burgher school of Potsdam, w'hich is in- 
tended to cover the ground occupied by both divisions. 

DOROTHEAN HIGHER CITY SCHOOL. 

This is a burgher school of recent establishment, which i 
was recommended to visit as one of the best in Berlin.* The 
city has recently erected a very neat and commodious build- 
ingf for it in the Dorothean quarter of the town, from which 
the school takes its name. The pupils are admitted at six years 
of age, and may remain until sixteen, when they are prepared 
to enter a business life. If intended for a professional career, 
they pass from the second class to the third of a gymnasium 
or grammar school at about fourteen. At present there is no 
first class, but this deficiency is to be supplied, and it is intended 
that a pupil of capacity, who has passed through its studies, 
shall be prepared for the second class of a gymnasium. In 
this case private lessons in Greek must be taken, and I should 
judge that, when established, this class will be composed only 
of those who intend to finish their education here, so as to pass 
to a "real school," or to some "technical school" Many pu- 
pils are actually prepared here for entrance into the third class 
of a gymnasium, and the courses have been in part adapted 
to this purpose. The certificate of the first class of this 
school, as of others of its grade, gives the privilege of claim- 
ing but one year of military service, and quahfies for em- 



* It is under Uic cliargc of Mr. Ziiinovv, a most intelligent and devoted loaclicr. 
+ The cost of tlic building was staled to liavc been 25,000 llinlers, (iji 18,750.) 



DOROTHEAN HIGHER CITY SCHOOL AT BERLIJV. 241 

ployments in the government bureaux, which, however, do not 
require, in general, a knowledge of Latin. 

The school* now consists of five classes, of which tlie sixth 
and fifth, the lowest two, have courses of one year each, and 
the others of two years. There is a head master and four 
regular teachers, besides four assistants or special masters, who 
are employed during part of the school hours, or in teaching 
particular subjects. In the lower classes each master teaches, 
in general, the whole round of subjects in which his class is 
occupied. In the upper classes, the teachers are confined to a 
few subjects. The arrangement of this matter is, however, at 
the discretion of the director, or head master, who varies it as 
appears best for the interests of the school.f In some of the 
classes there is a special master for religious instruction, which, 
however, is not usual in Prussia. 

The methods of instruction in this school are, in general, 
most excellent, and I was particularly struck with the small 
number of text- books em ployed. J This is not peculiar, how- 
ever, to this establishment, but is a feature in every good school 
in Germany. The master is expected to be so fully imbued 
with his subject, and expert in his art, as to be able to impart 
knowledge principally orally to his pupils, and in such a way 
as to adapt it to each individual; hence books are chiefly re- 
quired for study at home, and individual training is possible to 
an extent which no routine system with books would permit. 

* At the date of my visit in December, 1837, the school numbered one hundred 
and ninety-seven pupils. The fees were nearly five dollars per quarter, but it 
was intended to reduce them to less than four dollars. Should these at any time 
not prove adequate to the support of the school, the city must supply the defi- 
ciency. 

t The masters are appointed by the school-commiftoc, on the nomination of 
the head master. 

t I annex the list, as presenting this fact in a striking point of view. There 
are but ten text-books, exclusive of those for teaching Latin, used in the six 
classes. Baedecker's Primer, Dicsterweg's Reading Book for Schools, Erk's 
School Songs, the Bible, Luther's Catechism, Church Songs, Schulze's Latin 
Grammar, Drogan "Materials," Roquctte's French (irammar, Gcdicke's Latin 
Reading Book, Schulze's Latin Exercises, Cornelius Nepos, Dorian's Nunia 
1'ompilius, Ovid's Metamorplioses, Dicsterweg's Practical Arithmetic, Zinnow's 
Geometry, Dielitz's Historicnl Tables. 
31 



242 GE.VERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

The following statements give the course of instruction in 
detail. Leaving out some of the subjects as unnecessary for 
elementary instruction, I can see no reason why a very similar 
programme should not be adopted in the lower schools, the 
period of instruction being nearly the same in the two cases.* 
The difference between the instruction in a BerUn charity 
school and in a burgher school like this, is at present very 
great indeed. 

Religious Instruction. 

Class VI. Stories from the Old Testament. 

Class V. Stories from the New Testament. 

Class IV. Bible History. 

Class III. Reading and explanation of selections from the Scriptures. 

Class II. The Evidences of Christianity. 

The stories alluded to in the course of the sixth and fifth 
classes are the most remarkable biographies of the Old and 
New Testaments. The stories are chiefly narrated by the 
teacher, frequently in the words used in the sacred volume; 
and in the fourth class these same histories are read in the Bible 
itself The narrations in the lower classes admit of various 
explanatory remarks and illustrations of the history, the na- 
tural history, and geography referred to. The subject of the 
narrative being thus familiar to the pupil, he is interested by 
the beautiful simplicity of the language of the Bible, which 
otherwise he might fail to perceive, since his attention would 
be engaged with the incidents about which he was reading, 
rather than with the style. The study of the Evidences of 
Christianity would, it seems to me, be more suitable to the age 
of the first than of the second class. 

German Language. 

Class VI. Exercises of speech and thought (inductive exercises). Prepara- 
tory exercises in reading by the phonic (lautir) method. Fluent 
reading of words and sentences. 

Class V. The most important parts of etymology explained by reading les- 
sons. Exercises of orthography. 

* The expense I do not consider a reasonable objection, for if the people have 
a right to instruction, they should be well tauglit. 



DOROTHEAS HIGHER CITY SCHOOL AT BERLIN. 243 

Class IV. Exercises of et3rmology. Reading from a text-book. Stories nar- 
rated for written exercises. Ortliographical exercises. 
Class III. Grammatical analysis of sentences. 
Class II. The same continued. Original written exercises and descriptions. 

The exercises of speech and thought are admirably con- 
ducted. In teaching to read, the letter-box and composition- 
board, similar to that which I have already described in the 
chapter on the schools of Holland, are used. The lowest class 
is divided into two sections in receiving this instruction, so that 
each teacher has not more than twenty-five pupils under his 
charge. The reading exercises throughout the course will be 
found included under the title of " German." Diesterweg's 
Reading Book for Schools is used in the lower classes. 

Latin Language. 

Class IV. Regular verbs and other parts of speech. Translation of Gedicke's 

Reading Book. 
Class III. Constructions varying from the German. More difficult parts of 

Gedicke's Reading Book. Cornelius Nepos. 
Class II. Irregular parts of etymology. Syntax. Special reference to the 

differences from the German. Ovid. 

Although the Latin is begun with the fourth class, it will be 
seen hereafter that it occupies but a small portion of the time 
of each week, and as far as mental culture is concerned to 
those who leave off this study at fourteen, I cannot say that 
observation indicated its utility. On the contrary, an imperfect 
knowledge is acquired, which can produce no good effect. 

French Language. 

Class V. Exercises in reading and translating small sentences. 

Class IV. Auxiliary and regular verbs. Exercises on simple sentences. 

Class III. Irregular verbs and rules on the use of pronouns. Numa Pom- 

pilius begun. 
Class II. More difficult parts of the French Grammar. Numa Pompilius 
completed. 

Arithmetic. 

Class VI. The four ground rules, with numbers up to one thousand. 
Class V. Denominate numbers and preparatory exercises in fractionR. 
Class IV. Fractions. 



244 GENERAL EDUCATION, PRIMARY PERFOL). 

Clas3 III. Proportions, witli their applications. 

Class II. Elements of Algebra, Involution, and Evolution. 

The course of arithmetic, as taught in the seminary school, 
of which I shall next give an account, is, I think, better 
arranged than this. 

Geometry. 

Class V. Regular figures, &c. from tlie Elements of Geometry. 
Class IV. Lines, angles, and triangles. 

Class III. Circles and polygons. Mensuration of plane figures. 
Class II. Similarity of figures, &c. 

The geometry is here introduced earlier than in the semi- 
nary school, and, in general, the studies of the fifth class appear 
to me rather too much diversified for their age. 

Natural History. 

Class IV. Domestic animals. 

Class III. Viviparous animals. 

Class II. Birds and fishes, illustrated by a small collection. 

Physics is also taught in the second class, so far as to give a 
knowledge of the general properties of bodies. 

Geography. 

Class V. Knowledge of home. The district. The province. The kingdom. 

Class IV. General geography. 

Class III. Principal countries of Europe. 

Class II. Europe more in particular. 

The knowledge of home includes an account of its history, 
its monuments, distinguished men, &c. The course follows, 
in general, the plan already so often spoken of, and more par- 
ticularly described in the schools of Halle and Haarlem. 

History. 

Class IV. A general view of the more important historical events, witli tlie 

study of particular ones in detail. 
Class III. Ancient history. 
Class II. Modern history, to the time of the Reformation. 

The general history is rather a series of biographical sketches 
than a regular narration of events, and serves well as an intro- 
duction to systematic historical studies. 



DOROTHEAN HIGHER CITY SCHOOL AT BERLIN. 245 

Writing. 

Class V^I. Preparatory exercises in the lower division. Letters and words 

in the upper. 
Class V. Single letters and small sentences. 
Class IV. Writing- from copy-slips. 
Class III. Writing, with special reference to orthography. 

The elements of writing are taught according to Pestalozzi's 
method, the upper and lower limits of the letters being given 
by horizontal, and the slope by inclined lines. In regard to this 
branch it may be remarked, that very few schools which I 
visited did not present a satisfactory proficiency. 

Drawing. 

Class VI. Preparatory exercises. Regular figures. 

Class V. Drawing of bodies in elevation. 

Class IV. Solids bounded by plane figures and straight lines. 

Class III. Solids bounded by plane figures and straight lines, with shadows. 

Class II. Solids bounded by curved surfaces. 

The method of instruction is that devised by Mr. P. Schmidt, 
which I shall describe more particularly when speaking of 
one of the so called "real schools" of Berlin, where he is 
teacher. 

Singing is taught by ear in the two lower classes, and by 
note in the upper. The execution by the second class, which I 
heard, was excellent. They sing in parts, and by note. 

The following table shows the time devoted, in school, during 
the week by each class to the several subjects of instruction: — 



246 



GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 



Arrangement of the branches of instruction at the Dorotliean Higher City 

School. 



SUBJECTS OF STUDY. 



Religious instruction, - - 
German Language, - - - 

Latin, 

French, 

Arithmetic, 

Geometry, 

Natural History, . - - - 

Geography, 

History, 

Writing, 

Drawing, 

Singing, - 

Total, 



HOURS PER WEEK. 



32 



32 



O 



m 



4 
10* 



32 28 26 



The three higher classes have, as shown by the table just 
given, six hours of recitation every day except Wednesday 

* Six hours of the instruction, called "German," are devoted in the sixth class 
to learning to read, and four to " Exercises of speech and thought." 

t Two hours of this instruction is given to physics. 

t In the fifth class, geography and history are combined under the title of 
"Knowledge of home." 

§ This column is obtained by doubling the numbers in those classes of which 
<he course is for two years, and adding the numbers for the other classes. 



SEMINARY SCHOOL OF BERLIN. 247 

and Saturday, whicli are half-holidays, and on which they have 
but four hours. The lowest class has but five hours for four 
days in the week, and three the other two. The increase of 
school hours in the upper classes is manifestly a proper arrange- 
ment. 

This distribution of time assigns to language, including Ger- 
man, Latin, and French, ninety-eight houi's; to sciences and the 
kindred branches, namely, arithmetic, geometry, natural his- 
tory, geography, and history, eighty-two; to the branches which 
specially educate a part of the senses, while they have import- 
ant applications in after life, as writing, drawing, and singing, 
forty-eight hours, and to morals and religion, eighteen hours. 
Similar tabular statements will be furnished for the other schools 
of this class, by which numerical comparisons may be insti- 
tuted. 

SEMINARY SCHOOL OF BERLIN. 

This is a burgher or middle school, founded in 1S32, and 
attached to the Teacher's Seminary of Berlin,* taking its 
name from this connexion. The school is for boys only, and, 
like other higher burgher schools, it serves to prepare for the 
the third class of a gymnasium, as well as for entrance into active 
life. The same teachers give instruction in this school and in 
the seminary, being assisted here by the pupils of the seminary, 
to whom this serves as a school of practice. There are four 
regular teachers, besides the director, and also masters for 
drawing and singing. 

The pupils are admitted as early as five and six years of age. 
The time of year for general admission is Easter. There are 
six classes in the school, the lower four of w hich each retain 
the pupil, if industrious and intelligentj a year, and the two 
upper,, each two years. The whole course thus lasts eight 
years. Fifteen is, however, the usual age at which those who 
do not pass to the gymnasium leave the school. The average 
»iumber of pupils in each class is thirty.f 

* Of which Dr. Diestcrweg is director. 

f Toe school fee? for the four lower rhisses are Ihice dollais and scveiity-five 



248 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

Every month there is a private examination, in presence of 
all the teachers, at which the parents may attend. Every 
three months the pupil receives a note of progress and conduct, 
to be handed to his parents. Formerly a printed circular was 
sent, containing information in the form of an abstract from 
the account kept of recitations and conduct. It has been found, 
however, much more effectual to give a written statement of 
the character of the pupil, derived from the school journal, in- 
asmuch as it insures more certainly the attention of parents. 
At Easter a public examination is held, and those who have 
made a proper proficiency in their studies are passed to a 
higher class. 

Arrangements exist by which those pupils whose parents de- 
sire it, may study under the superintendence of a teacher,* 
during the time considered necessary for the preparation of 
the lessons of their class. The following division of the studies 
of the school is made by the director. 

1. Religious Instruction. Bible history. History of the Church and of the 
Reformation. Protestant Catechism. 

2. Languages, (a) German. Fluency in reading, and readiness in answering 
questions. Capability of writing an exercise upon an ordinary subject. Gram- 
mar of the language. (&) Latin. Ortliography, etymology, and the elements of 
syntax. Translation of an easy Latin author (Cornelius Nepos) into German, or 
of an easy German author into Latin, (c) French. Knowledge of the granmiar. 
Facility in the translation of easy authors, and in writing compositions. 

3. Sciences, (a) Arithmetic. Mental and written. Positive and negative 
quantities. Livolution and evolution, (h) Geometry. Plane geometry, with 
practical applications, (c) Natural history. Knowledge of the most important 
minerals and plants of the neighbourhood. General outline of zoology and 
anthropology. ((/) Geography, physical and mathematical, (e) History. Out- 
lines of universal history. History of the country. 

4. Mechanical Acquirements, (a) Reading. (b) A good handwriting, 
(c) Draughts of models, furniture, &c. (d) Singing. 

It will be found, subsequently, that I have taken reading out 



cents per quarter, and for the two higher classes four dollars and fifty cents per 
quarter, besides a charge of one dollar twelve and a-half cents for fuel during 
the winter. 

* The fee for private f^tudy is four dollars nnd fifly cents per quarter. 



SEMINARY SCHOOL OF BERLIN. 249 

of this class, and placed it beside the German language, to 
which it is subsidiary, and where it is classed in the preceding 
school- 
In regard to the methods of carrying out this course, the fol- 
lowing rules are laid down,* and after carefully visiting the 
school, I can testify that they are fully observed. Indeed, this 
is one of the most interesting establishments which I saw, from 
the liveliness and activity which prevails in its classes. 

The principle of induction is used, as far as practicable, in 
all branches: thus, in the earlier exercises, an object is presented 
to the pupil, who is led to notice its peculiarities, and to express 
his conceptions of them. He passes from objects which are 
known, and even familiar, to the unknown. Unknown objects 
are illustrated, if possible, by models, and the names of the parts 
are taught, and their uses or properties examined. The pupil 
proceeds first from particulars to generals. Subsequently, the 
order is reversed. He is made to understand whatever he is 
required to remember; to find out for himself, if possible, rather 
than to be taught directly. 

Historical and similar subjects are taught by lecture, min- 
gled with questions. The pupil is led to express himself 
readily and correctly ; the teacher speaks no more, therefore, 
than is absolutely necessary for explanation, or to induce 
suitable answers. Self-exertion, on the part of the pupil, is con- 
stantly encouraged. He is taught to observe whatever is inter- 
esting. Imitation of what is seen, and repetition of what is 
heard, lead to original thought. This, however, is to be ex- 
pected only from pupils of talent, and hence the teacher must 
be satisfied to allow some to learn what others have found 
out. The common mistakes of overburthening the mind with 
positive knowledge, and of too much system in teaching, are 

* I give merely an abstract of tlic views of Dr. Diesterwe/r, as suited to the 
limits of my Report. Dr. Diesterweg is one of the most enlig-litened practical 
teachers of Germany. He was formerly director of the normal school at Moers, 
in the Rhenish provinces, and was transferred from that post to the seminary 
at Berlin. He is the editor of the Pedagogical Journal, the Rhine sheets for 
education and instruction. CRheinische Blatter fiir Erziehung und Unterriel)t.) 
32 



250 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

to be avoided, as both are injurious to mental development. 
The teacher must be able to make his subject interesting, and, 
therefore, should know how to communicate it without a book, 
and to elicit the knowledge of his pupil by proper questions. 
It is the mental activity of the pupil which will determine the 
measure of his success in after life ; and hence this activity, 
rather than positive knowledge, should be looked to as the 
object of the instruction at school. 

In regard to this last named principle, although I consider it 
applicable, in a great degree, in elementary education, yet it 
appears to me that exception must be made of the cases of pu- 
pils who intend to enter active life on leaving the school, and 
to whom, therefore, the knowledge which they will have imme- 
diate occasion to use, should be imparted, to render their edu- 
cation effective. In general, where the mind may be cultivated 
by diflerent studies, choice should be made of those most likely 
to be applied by the individual in hil future career, especially 
if his education is necessarily to terminate before he can have 
time to master the complete circle. 

I proceed to give a detailed account of the arrangement of 
the studies, following it by such remarks as to the methods 
pursued in the particular branches as may appear necessary, 
and by a comparison of the courses with those of the Doro- 
thean school. 

Religious Instruction. 

Class VI. Four hours per week. Narration by the teacher of stories from 

the Old Testament, in the words of the Bible, repeated by the 

pupils. Easy verses learned by lieart. 
Class V. Four hours. Stories from the gospels, except the latter portion of 

the Life of Christ. Church songs and Bible verses learned. 
Class IV. Three hours. The Old Testament in a more connected form. 

The moral of the history is impressed upon the children. The 

Ten Commandments and church songs committed to memory. 
Class III. Two hours. The life and doctrines of Christ, to the period of his 

imprisonment. Church history. Four weeks are set apart 

for learning the geography of Palestine. 
Class II. Two hours. The Protestant Catcciiism committed to memory 

and c.vplaincd. Church soug-s and verses committed. 






SEMINARY SCHOOL OF BERLIN. 251 

Class I. Two hours. A compendium of tlic history of the Christian Church, 
particularly after the Apostolic age. History of the Reformation. 
Review of the Bible. Committing to memory psalms and 
hymns, continued. 

German Language. 

Class VI. Four hours. Exercises of speech. Stories narrated to the chil- 
dren and repeated by tliem. After learning to write, these 
stories are written upon the slate. 

Class V. Four hours. Exercises in ortliography. Etymology begun. 

Class IV. Four hours. Exercises in orthography and style. Every week a 
short composition is written on some subject which has been 
narrated. 

Class III. Grammar continued. 

Class II. Four hours. Original compositions, which are corrected during 
the recitation. Syntax commenced. 

Class I. Three hours. Compositions on historical subjects. Essays written 
at home and corrected in the class-room. Syntax continued. 

Latin Language. 

Class IV. Three hours. Declensions of nouns, adjectives, and pronouns 
learned. Examples learned by heart, and others written as an 
exercise at home. Auxiliary verbs conjugated. 
Class III. Four hours. Comparison of adjectives. Regular verbs conju- 



Class II. Four hours. Irregular verbs. Syntax begun. Translation from 

Latin into German. 
Class I. Six hours. Grammar continued. Written exercises at home and 

in the class. Every four weeks an extempore exercise is written, 

which the teachers correct out of school hours. Cornelius 

Nepos read and construed. 

French Language. 

Class III. Three hours. Exercises in reading. Elements of grammar. 

Words learned by heart. Easy exercises written at home and 

in school hours. 
Class II. Four hours. Regular and irregular verbs learned. Syntax. 

Translations from French into German. Words learned by 

rote. 
Class I. Four hours. Written exercises of increased dij(ficulty. Tables 

dictated and learned by heart. Voltaire's Charles XII. read. 

Arithmetic. 

Class VI. Four hours. Practical Arithmetic. The fundamental operations 
taught with numbers from one to one hundred; first mentally, 
then with blocks, and afterwards with figures. Exercises pre- 
pared at home twice a week. 



252 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY I'ERIUU. 

Class V. Four hours. The four ground rules continued, with numbers as 
high as one thousand. Exercises in reading and writing large 
numbers. Mental arithmetic especially practised. Addition 
and subtraction of abstract numbers. 

Class IV. Four hours. Addition and subtraction revised. Multiplication 
and division of abstract numbers. Weights and measures 
explained. 

Class III. Four hours. The four ground rules, with fractions. 

Class II. Three hours. Revision of the above. Rule of three. 

Class I. Three hours. In the first year practical arithmetic finished. Pro- 
portions and decimal fractions. Elements of algebra. Mental 
algebra. 

Geometry. 

Class IV. Two hours. The essential preparatory exercises in form, in con- 
nexion with drawing. Rudiments explained. 

Class III. Two hours. Practice in the position of points, drawing of lines, 
angles, plane figures, representations of solids. 

Class II. Two hours. Elements of geometry proper, the point, line, angles, 
triangles, and measures of straight lines, surfaces, and con- 
tents. 

Class I. Two hours. Plane geometry completed, with practical exercises. 
Every alternate six months lessons in physics are given. 

Natural History. 

Class II. Two hours. In the summer term, study of certain classes of 
plants. In the winter term, of animals. The subject is illus- 
trated by drawings. 

Class I. Two hours. Systematic botany during the winter term, and zool- 
ogy and mineralogy during the winter. 

Geography. 

Class III. Two hours. Knowledge of home. Berlin and its environs. Re- 
gency of Potsdam. Province of Brandenburg. Necessary 
technical terms explained, as horizontal, vertical, &c. 

Class II. Two hours. Geography of Prussia and Germany. 

Class I. Two hours. General geography, particularly Europe and America. 
Asia more generally. Africa and Australia very briefly. 

History. 

Class II. Two hours. View of universal liistory, biographical rather than 
chronological. 

Class I. Two hours. First year universal liistory completed. Second year 
the history of Germany, and particularly of Prussia. The 
most Important inventions and discoveries are noticed in con- 
nexion with the history of these countries. 



SEMINARY SCHOOL OF BERLIN. '-^53 

Reading. 

Class VI. Seven hours. Reading by the phonie (lautir) method. Analysis 

of words in regard to division into syllables and sounds. 
Class V. Seven hours. Mechanical reading continued, but with reference to 

the meaning of the words. The pupils are examined upon 

words, sentences, and paragraphs. 
Class IV. Four hours. Explanatory reading continued. Accentuation. No 

piece is allowed to be read without its being understood. 
Class III. Two hours. Rythmical reading begun. Interesting portions of 

the matter read, narrated by the pupils in their own words. 
Class II. Two hours. Rythmical readmg continued. 
Class I. Two hours. Reading of some of the German classics. Analysis 

of the subject read. 

Writing. 

Class VI. Five hours. Introductory exercises of drawing upon the slate. 
Copying the small letters from the black-board. Writing on 
paper. Capital letters. Written exercises at home twice a 
week. 

Class V. Five hours. Writing of German cliaracters continued. Roman 
letters begun. Copying from a book at home, with special re- 
ference to orthograpliy. 

Class IV. Four hours. Writing in German and Roman characters con- 
tinued. Two hours copying from copy-slips. Two hours 
writing from dictation. 

Class III. Three hours. Exercises of Class IV. continued. Pupils who 
write well are allowed to write without lines. Writing without 
copies, according to progress. 

Class II. Two hours. Exercises continued. Most of the pupils write 
without lines or by directing points merely. 

Class I. The written exercises in other departments are examined, to ascer- 
tain the character of the handwriting. No special lessons are 
given. 

Drawing. 

Class IV. Two hours. Drawing straight lines in various directions and of 

various lengths. Making definite angles. Drawing triangles, 

squares, and other reetihnear figures. 
Class III. Two hours. Drawing of circles and ovals. 
Class II. Two hours. Drawing of bodies bounded by planes and straight 

lines in perspective. Drawing of curves. 
Class I. Drawing from natuial objects, from plaster casts, and models. 

Singing. 

Class IV. Two hours suffice to learn fifteen or twenty songs, of one or two 
versos, by note, and some ten choral songs. 



254 GENERAL EDUCATION". PRIMARY PERIOD. 

Class III. Two hours. Songs with two parts continued. Chorals with one 

voice. 
Class II. Two hours. Songs with two or three voices continued. 
Class I. Two hours. Songs and chorals with three or four parts. 

Once durincc the morninQ; there is an interval for recreation 
in the court-yard of the school, and the pupils are directed in 
their exercises of marching and counter-marching, and the like, 
by one of the teachers. 

The course marked out in the foregoing programme, as far 
as it extends, seems to me well adapted to educate the moral 
and intellectual faculties, as well as the senses; to give mental 
vigour, while it furnishes information useful to the pupil in after 
life. 

There are peculiarities in regard to the religious instruction, 
even as intended for Protestants, which may be remarked in the 
fifth and third classes, the object of which I do not understand. 
In other respects, when sectarian instruction may be given, as 
in this school, where all the pupils are of one denomination, the 
course appears to be good. The manner of communicating 
the instruction by conversation and lectures, used in both this 
and the Dorothean school, renders it very effective. There 
are in all the classes, taken together, twenty-two hours per 
week devoted to religious instruction here, and eighteen in the 
other, but the programme does not show a gain in the amount 
of knowledge communicated. 

The course in the mother tongue is fully explained in the 
programme, and is well adapted to produce fluency and accu- 
racy of expression in conversation and writing. Both this and 
the foregoing course extend, as they should, through all the 
classes. 

The Latin language is introduced with a view to prepara- 
tion for a gymnasium, to the nomenclature of natural history, " 
the business of the chemist and druggist, and perhaps, to use 
the language of an accomplished teacher in one of the higher 
town schools, " because such always has been the custom." I 
would give the preference to the course of this school over 



SEMINARY SCHOOL OF BERLIN". 255 

that of the other, considering the time of twenty-seven hours 
devoted to it more appropriate than of thirty, as in the other. 

The French, besides combining w^ith the German and Latin to 
give the due proportion of intellectual culture from language, is 
introductory to the courses in the real schools, which are pa- 
rallel with the gymnasia, and prepare for the polytechnic or 
other special schools, as the latter do for the university. It is 
practically useful, too, to the shopkeeper and tradesman of the 
continent of Europe, and was, probably, formerly more so than 
at present. The Latin language is begun in the fourth class, or 
at about eight years of age, and the French language in the third 
class, but neither occupy more than three hours a week, until 
a year afterwards. These languages occupy fifty-six hours in 
the Dorothean school, and forty-seven in this, per week, during 
the entire period through which they are taught. 

Nothing can be better than the foundation laid for arithmetic. 
The pupils are engaged a year in practical arithmetic before 
they are introduced to a knowledge of abstract numbers. Ha- 
bits of thought are given by simple exercises in mental arith- 
metic. The eye is enlisted to aid the mind by computing with 
cubes, according to the method already described in the schools 
of Holland. Written arithmetic relieves the mental exertion, 
aids the memory, and trains the hand. The course is then car- 
ried on, combining mental and written arithmetic, and reaching 
algebra, which is also, in part, taught mentally. The text- 
book of arithmetic is a very useful treatise, by Dr. Diesterweg 
and Mr. Heuser.* I liked the course in this school altogether 
better than that in the other, where, however, in the older 
classes, the same text-book is used. 

The course of geometry begins with ideas of form, in con- 
nexion with drawing, according to Pestalozzi's method, which 
it follows in general. It is thus a powerful means of stimulat- 
ing the mind, and, though the time occupied is greater than if 
the subject were taught in the ordinary way, th.c results are 
much more satisfactory. If there is latent mathematical talent 

* This work has e^onc throufih ten editions. 



25f» GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

in a pupil, iiis powers of invention cannot fail to be drawn out 
by this method. 

Natural history is not left to incidental instruction, to be de- 
rived from the reading-book, but is directly taught in the last two 
years. I had not the opportunity of judging of the fruits of this 
instruction in the seminary school itself, but the pupils of the 
seminary were pursuing the subject with zeal. In comparing 
this course with that of the other school, I think it preferable, 
except in the omission, at the beginning, of an account of the 
domestic animals. There will be, I doubt not, great improve- 
ments in teaching this branch at a future day. At present, the 
plan is hardly formed, and the collections for illustration, where 
they exist at all, are, in general, quite small. There is, besides, 
a tendency to make the course too strictly scientific. 

The system of instruction in geography is that already mi- 
nutely described in the school at Haarlem and at Halle. It is 
begun in the third class, or at nine years of age, with a de- 
scription of home. History, which in its elements is combined 
with geography, takes a separate place in the second class. 
The practice of giving biographical sketches instead of mere 
chronological details, cannot be too much commended. The 
pupil learns with interest the events of the lives of men who 
have made an impression upon the age in which they lived: 
these events form an outline which is easily fixed in the mind, 
and may subsequently be filled up in detail. Again, the discus- 
sions of inventions and discoveries in art or science afford re- 
lief from the descriptions of battles and revolutions, and serve 
to show the influence of genius exerted in civil life. 

The phonic method of teaching to read, wants only the use 
of words having a meaning, as in Mr. Wood's system, to be 
nearly perfect. No reading is allowed, however, without under- 
standing not only the words, but their connexion, and the ideas 
conveyed by the sentences. The habit of thus giving paraphrases 
of subjects, leads to facility of expression, and by combining 
this with copying from good models, a correct style is formed. 
The course of reading of the highest class, includes selections 
from the German classics, Tntroductorv exercises in drawing 



SEMINARY SCHOOL OF BERLIN. 257 

precede the instruction in writing ; these might, I have no doubt, 
be much further extended with advantage.* A good handwri- 
ting is produced by the succession of exercises described in the 
programme. The course of drawing, which is commenced as 
a distinct branch in the fourth class, is intended to enable the 
pupil to sketch correctly, and with facility, such objects of 
furniture, machinery, &c., as he may have occasion to repre- 
sent in his occupations in after life. The addition of two hours 
of drawing in the fifth class, as in the Dorothean school, would 
seem to me not to overburthen the class with work, while it 
would add materially to their proficiency in this useful branch. 

Singing is successfully taught, and by note. It is considered 
an indispensable branch of instruction, and all my convictions 
are in its favour, whether as a means of developing moral 
sentiment, or of physical education. Singing by ear might, 
however, very well begin in the lower classes, and for this 
purpose the number of hours of instruction per week might be 
increased from twenty-four to twenty-six in the lowest, and 
twenty-eight in the fifth class. This would make the number 
of hours for these classes the same as in the Dorothean school. 

The time allotted to the different studies will appear better 
by the annexed table. In regard to the ages of the pupils, in- 
serted in the heading of the columns, it is to be understood 
that they are those of intelligent and industrious boys, entering 
at six years, and going regularly through the classes. As in 
the former tables, the subjects of instruction are placed in the 
first column, the number of hours per week occupied by the 
several classes in the following ones, and the total number of 
hours devoted to each subject, while in the school, in the last 
column. In forming this total, the number of hours occupied 
by the four lower classes, the course in each of which is of one 
year, is reckoned once; and the number of hours of the two 
upper classes, each course occupying two years, is doubled. 

* As has been done for the elements of an English hand, by our countryman, 
Mr. Rembrandt Peale, in his admirable System of Graphics, The forms of the 
German letters would require a different system. 
33 



258 



GENERAL EDUCATIOX. PRIMARY PERIOD. 



Table of distribution of time in the Royal Seminary School of Berlin. 



SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION. 



6 :A 

■^ (-1 

1-1 

^« CI 



NUMBER OF HOURS PER WEEK. 



6^ 



b£ CO bjD 



;j o 



O £ 



S >> 
U^ 






Eh 

22 
27 
31 
27 
20 
28 
10 

8 
10 

8 
19 
12 
12 



Religious Instruction, 
German Language, 
Reading, - - . . 
Latin Language, - 
French Language, - 
Arithmetic, ... 
Geometry, - - - 
Natural History, 
Geography, - - - 
History, - - - - 
Writing, - - - - 
Drawing, . - - - 
Singing, .... 



o 



32 



32 



32 



26 



24 



24 



From this table it appears that language occupies one hundred 
and five hours, estimating the time devoted to reading with that 
for German, Latin, and French, science sixty-four hours, and 
the mechanical branches, including writing, drawing, and sing- 
in<T, forty-three. It would be erroneous, however, to suppose tiiat 
the results are in these proportions. The least consideration will 
show that the progress in different branches in the same school 



This inckulcs picparutor} geometrical exercises. 



SEMINARY SCHOOL OF BERLIN. 259 

cannot be estimated by the time devoted to them; the intrinsic 
difficulties of acquisition, the different periods of the course at 
which they are introduced, and various other causes, prevent 
comparisons of this sort. Not only so, but the time occupied in 
the same subjects in different schools, which might be thought to 
afford an accurate test of comparative progress in them, can- 
not, in reality, be employed for this purpose, without at the 
same time carefully studying the programmes, to ascertain how 
the time is applied in each class, and the manner in which it is 
distributed among the several classes. The two higher city 
schools just described, afford conclusive evidence of this fact. 
There can be no doubt, I think, that the Uorothean school is 
the stronger in language, and the seminary school in science. 
Such is the general reputation of the two, and such is the tone 
which the director of each would be likely to give to the school 
under his charge. The impression which I derived from visit- 
ing the two establishments was to the same effect. The num- 
ber of hours per week devoted to language in all the classes 
of the two schools is, however, ninety-eight for the first, and one 
hundred and five for the second, and to science, eighty-two for 
the former and sixty-four for the latter; leading, in both cases, 
to the reverse of the conclusion just stated. If differences in 
the arrangement of studies, in the power o'f the teachers, in the 
methods and implements of instruction, and even in the pupils 
themselves, may lead to such results, small differences in the 
proportion of time allotted to different branches should not, 
without carefully checking their results by other comparisons, 
be assumed to indicate corresponding differences in the value 
of the courses. 

In following the course of studies of these two schools, it 
will be seen that those of the lowest class, in each, are almost 
identical. In the next, the seminary school has greatly the 
advantage in the compactness of arrangement, by which the 
attention of the pupil is confined to fewer subjects. No less 
than ten branches are introduced into the programme of this 
class in the Dorothean school, while there are but five in the 
seminary school. The scientific branches, except those which 



200 GENERAL EDUCATION. I'RIMAKY PERIOD, 

run through all the years, are introduced later in the latter 
school, which is in accordance with the principle of concen- 
trating the attention on a few subjects, where it is possible. It 
appears to me that, in general, it is not proper to introduce these 
branches early, except as matters of incidental instruction. 
The separation of the programmes of the two schools, produced 
as just stated, renders it difficult briefly to compare the courses 
of the same class in each. A general comparison of the sub- 
jects shows that the German language is taught according 
to the same plan in each, and that the highest class attains the 
same level in each, as far as the grammar is concerned; much 
more attention, however, is paid in the seminary school to the 
reading courses, as well for the acquisition of reading as an 
art, and to cultivate a taste for it, as for the incidental know- 
ledge to be communicated. Nearly one-fourth of the pupil's 
time, in the school just named, is devoted to the vernacular. 
The Latin is begun in the same class in both schools, but the 
course in the Dorothean school at once takes the lead of 
the other, and keeps it throughout. The French begins in 
the fifth class in one school,. and in the third in the other; and, 
though the programmes terminate at about the same point, there 
is a greater proficiency made in the Dorothean school. One 
object, if not the principal one, of learning this language being 
to speak it, the early commencement is an advantage. In 
a general comparison of progress in language, the Dorothean 
school, as already stated, ranks higher than the other. 

The courses of arithmetic are difi'ercnt, but terminate at the 
same level ; I have already mentioned my preference for the 
course of the seminary. Geometry is begun in the fifth class 
in the Dorothean, and in the fourth in the seminary school; 
the courses go on together for three classes, and extend further 
in the latter institution. The difierences in the courses of na- 
tural history have already been the subject of remark. The 
course of geography is essentially the same, differing only in 
the age of the pupil at beginning. History is begun in the 
fourth class of the Dorothean, and in the second in the seminary 
school: it is more svstematic in the former, and assumes more 



HIGHER BURGHER SCHOOI, OF POTSDAM. 261 

llie form of biography in the latter: the range of the two courses 
does not differ essentially. Taking these branches, classed as 
scientific, together, the superiority is with the seminary school, 
and thus, in both this and the former case, the judgment which 
would have been pronounced by referring to the numbers 
merely, is reversed. 

HIGHER BURGHER SCHOOL OF POTSDAM. 

This school* differs from those already described in several 
particulars, exemplifying, in its arrangements, the division into 
lower and higher burgher schools, and carrying the courses of 
the latter decidedly into the domain of secondary instruction. 
Its principal objects are to prepare children of both sexes for 
occupations connected with, or corresponding to, the lower 
trades, and boys for the higher mechanical occupations, as 
builders, architects, &c., or for admission into the trade school 
connected with the Government, Mechanics', or Trade Institute 
at Berlin,! ^^"d for the gymnasium. This school thus supplies 
instruction of different grades; first, elementary instruction of a 
higher kind; second, that usually given in the "real schools" of 
Prussia, and third, that necessary for entrance into the higher 
classes of a gymnasium, or grammar schook Hence its studies 
embrace many subjects and stages of progress which properly 
belong to secondary instruction, and even to a greater degree 
than other higher burgher schools. 

The pupils pursue a course common to all in the three lower 
classes, or from about six to eleven or twelve years of age, 
when a separation takes place. Those who are to leave school 
at thirteen or fourteen, pass into the " middle burgher school 
class," in which the study of Latin and French is dropped, and 
the time is devoted to religious instruction, German, mathema- 
tics, geography and history, the elements of natural history, 
technology and physics, writing, drawing, and vocal music. 
Those pupils who are preparing for a higher class of a gym- 



* Under the charge of difLctor Loffler. 

+ Tliis excellent institution will be hereafter particularly described. 



202 GENERAL EDUCATION, PRIMARY PERIOD, 

nasium, or who intend to pursue the entire course here, pass 
from the third class to the " second burgher school class." 
These arrangements appear to meet the wants of the citizens 
of Potsdam, for, in 1837, forty-two pupils passed from the third 
class to the middle burgher school class, and forty-one to the 
second class of the higher school. 

Pupils preparing for the sixth class of a gymnasium leave 
this school in the " second elementary class," or at about nine 
or ten years of age, and those who aim at the third class of a 
gymnasium, usually pass from this at the close of the course 
of the second class in the higher school. The first, or upper 
class, thus contains only those pupils who intend to enter into ac- 
tive business life on leaving the school, or to enter a special 
school of arts and trades. On this account, the branches of 
science which are immediately applicable to such objects, are 
introduced into the course. This class consisted, in 1837, of 
ten pupils. The complete course is usually gone through at or 
before sixteen years of age, and entitles the pupil to claim one 
year of voluntary military service, instead of the three regular 
years, and qualifies him for appointment in the government 
bureaux. 

The six boys' and three girls' classes have twelve ordinary 
teachers, besides one assistant, and two female teachers. Each 
of the lower classes has but one teacher, who attends to all 
the subjects as in the other schools already described. The 
total number of pupils was, in 1837, four hundred and fifty-six, 
of whom three hundred and twenty-three were boys. 

The usual system of change of place in the classes is em- 
ployed to excite emulation, and discipline is mainly conducted 
by means of a black-book, in which a pupil's name is entered 
at the end of the week or month, when he has had a certain 
number of faults per week or per month marked against him 
by the teacher. Marks of merit are allowed to cancel those of 
demerit. The entry is communicated to the pupil's comrades, 
and also to his parents. As far as I have been able to judge of 
these and similar systems of discipline in day schools, I have 
not found any marked good effects from them. Tf a teacher is 



HIGHER BURGHER SCHOOL OF POTSDAM. f 263 

competent, he keeps up good discipline without them, and if he 
is not, they are of httle or no service to him. In this remark 
I do not mean to include communications to parents, which are 
frequently of the greatest utility. The following plan, which 
apparently bears some analogy to this, but which owes its effi- 
cacy to a different principle, is in successful operation in Dr. 
Mayo's excellent boarding-school at Cheam, in Surrey, Eng- 
land. When a pupil proves insensible to the admonitions of the 
teacher, and is frequently reported for oflences or negligence, 
he is required to show to the principal a written statement of 
character from each master after every hour. He is thus sub- 
jected to admonition or other punishment from the principal 
immediately after committing an offence. For this very strict su- 
pervision, one extending over a day or week is substituted when 
improvement manifests itself, or when the case does not require 
so great severity. 

I propose now to give a statement of the courses of the 
burgher school at Potsdam, and of the time required for their 
completion, with remarks and comparisons with the schools 
already described. 

The annexed plan of the distribution of time gives also a list 
of the subjects of instruction; it is arranged exactly hke the 
similar ones already presented. The first two columns of figures 
on the left hand refer to the number of hours of study per week 
in the two classes of the higher school. The third contains 
those of the middle burgher school class, the pupils in which 
terminate their course here. The next three contain the hours 
of study of the elementary classes, which are common to the 
whole school. 



264 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

Table of the distribution of time of the Higher Burgher School of Potsdam. 



SUBJECTS 



INSTRUCTION. 



Religious Instruction, 
German Language, - 

Reading, 

Latin, 

French, 

Arithmetic, . . . . 
Geometry, . . . . 
Natural History, - - 
Geography, . . . . 

History, 

Teclinology, - - - 

Physics, 

Chemistry, . . . . 
Writing, . . . . 
Drawing, . . . . 
Singing, 






-a -3 









38 34 



be 

5o« 



34 



r> "" ' >^ sj 






3 

5* 

4 

4 

1 

4 

2§ 

2 

1 



34 



31 28 



24 

44 

26 

40 

22 

36 

18 

16 

14 

10 

4 

8 

8 

28 

12 

20 



* Includes orthography, 2 hours; grammar, 2 iiours; exercises of style, 1 
hour. 

+ Includes exercises of memory, 2 hours. 

t Preparatory exercises. 

§ Elements of form. 

II Tiic column of totals refers to the regular progression of five classes, and is 
obtained by doubling the numbers here given for the tlycc elementary and two 
\ippcr burgher school classes. 



HIGHER BURGHER SCHOOL OF POTSDAM. 265 

Besides the branches taught in the burgher schools already- 
described, we have in this one technology, physics, and che- 
mistry, and the number of hours attached to them in the forego- 
ing table shows that they are actually taught to a considerable 
extent. These subjects are introduced, and at the same time the 
amount of study in the languages is increased, requiring an un- 
due degree of labour of the classes, and dividing their attention 
among too many subjects. Thirty-eight hours of attendance 
on school per week is certainly too much to require. 

Latin is begun in the second elementary class, where the first 
rudiments of grammar are learned, and easy sentences trans- 
lated. This course is continued in the next class. Those who 
intend to leave the school in the middle burgher school class, 
may be excused from attending the Latin lessons in the first. 

The second class of the higher school read Cornelius Nepos, 
and the first Ca)sar and Ovid. Their proficiency did not, how- 
ever, seem to me to correspond at all with the number of hours 
devoted to this branch, viz. forty. The object of this instruction, 
for those who do not go to the gymnasium, is stated to be to 
enable them to pursue the science necessary to their callings, 
without embarrassment from the terms. I am of opinion that, 
in such a case, the system pursued in Mr. Wood's school, applied 
to learning the etymology of compound Latin words, and of the 
German words derived from the Latin, would answer the end 
better, with a less consumption of time; and if Latin is to be re- 
tained, the number of hours devoted to it in the Dorothean 
school (thirty), or in the seminary school (twenty-seven), seem 
much better suited to the object in view. I am induced to what 
may seem a tedious discussion of these programmes, because 
they afford different examples of primary instruction — the grade 
with which our college must begin, and we cannot examine 
too carefully the subjects which should compose it, nor draw 
too largely upon experience in the details of arrangement. 

French. This course does not differ materially from those 

already given. Telemachus is used as a text-book. The time 

appropriated to the language appears sufficient, without being 

burthensome. Both the Latin and French bein^ commenced 

34 



266 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

in the second elementary class, which contains pupils who 
intend to leave school at the end of the " middle burgher school 
class year," it may be supposed that this time is thrown away, 
as very little proficiency can be made in so short a period; the 
force of this objection is, however, somewhat diminished by 
the fact, that the arrangement gives an opportunity for the de- 
velopment of a disposition for language which may warrant 
a change in the destination of the pupil. 

In arithmetic, the lowest class is employed mainly in the men- 
tal exercises. After they have learned to make figures, they 
prepare written examples at home. In the next class, written 
arithmetic is combined with mental. The four ground rules 
are learned with abstract and concrete numbers. Preparatory 
exercises in fractions are taught. The first elementary class 
proceed as far as to include fractions, and a part of the class 
study proportions. The middle burgher school class pass on 
to decimal fractions and the square and cube root. The second 
burgher school class have their attention in these same parts 
of arithmetic directed to the technical applications, and besides, 
begin algebra, and proceed as far as simple equations. The 
first burgher school class extend their course of algebra 
through equations of the second and third degrees, progres- 
sions, and logarithms. Mercantile arithmetic also forms part 
of their course. These latter subjects, however, can in no wise 
be considered as belonging to primary instruction. 

Geometry. Preparatory exercises of form, after the method 
of Pestalozzi, are taught in the elementary classes, and the 
higher ones proceed through the elements of geometry, and 
include mensuration and plane trigonometry. The head mas- 
ter has arranged, for the benefit of his pupils, a course contain- 
ing the most important elements, and teaches also by lectures, 
which the pupils are required to write out. The time allotted to 
this subject is nearly double that of the seminary school, and I 
saw some reason to doubt the propriety of beginning the ele- 
mentary exercises so early. 

Knowledge of nature and art. The introduction to this sub- 
ject, taught in the lowest two classes, is drawn from natural 



HIGHER BURGHER SCHOOL OF POTSDAM. 267 

history, physical geography, and physics, and is made the 
means of inductive exercise. The recitations and conversation 
lectures which I heard, evidently interested the pupils, while 
they cultivated habits of reflection and observation. They are 
parallel with the lessons on objects of the English schools, 
being, however, more extended. The more systematic course 
of natural history of the higher classes, is like that of the 
seminary school. In summer the pupils make occasional ex- 
cursions into the country, for practical exercise in this branch, 
under charge of a teacher: these excursions, if rightly impro- 
ved, may be made also the means of cultivating proper relations 
between the pupil and teacher, but they are hable to abuse, 
and should be carefully attended to, in order to prevent such 
results. This school possesses a good collection of plates of 
natural history,* and has the use of the museum of the trade 
school, which is under its roof. 
The course of technology, intended to give a knowledge of 
the principal arts and their processes, lies open to the objection 
already urged, on the score of overburthening the pupils with 
work. Such knowledge, as well as that of physics and che- 
mistry, would be of service in after life, but I do not see the 
possibihty of teaching it, except in a mere outhne, in a short 
course, and the time allotted appears to contemplate something 
more. 

Geography. This course is begun with physical geography. 
The natural and artificial divisions of the world follow. 
Then the physical and political geograply of Europe is taken 
up. The course of the upper or middle burgher school class 
terminates with that of Germany, and especially of the Mark of 
Brandenburgh, and with a review of the whole. The second 
burgher school class has the same course with the middle class. 
The first takes up mathematical geography, and reviews physi- 
cal geography more minutely, adding a knowledge of the cli- 
mate, productions, commerce, manufactures, &c. of the coun- 
tries studied. Maps are drawn, as an exercise, at home. This 

* By Fisiicr of Brc!<law, 



268 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

geographical course, which attaches every other part of the 
information to physical geography, appeared to me next in its 
success to the inductive plan already described. It is much 
facilitated by the use of raised maps, on which the natural 
features of the country strike the eye more forcibly than on a 
common map, where, if the physical details are given, the 
names and positions of the places, the boundaries, &c. are ob- 
scured by them. 

The course of history, in the lower classes, is like that in the 
other schools. In the middle class the subject is reviewed, and 
the history of Germany, and especially that of Prussia, and 
of the Mark of Brandenburgh is studied. The second higher 
burgher school class is taught an outline of ancient history, of 
that of the middle ages, and of later times, and then proceeds 
to the history of Germany and of Brandenburgh. In the first 
class, the history of Germany, and of modern Europe in gene- 
ral, is continued. 

In the mechanical branches, the distribution of time agrees 
with that in the other schools, except in the number of hours 
allotted to writing, which is here twenty-eight, and in the Doro- 
thean school but sixteen. Vocal music is taught by ear in the 
lower classes, and by note in the upper. 

Physical education. There is an interval of a quarter of an 
hour in the middle of the morning, during which the pupils are 
free to take exercise, but there is no regular gymnastic or otiier 
exercise under the superintendence of the teachers. 

GENERAL REMARKS. 

It is clear, from the foregoing examples of schools usually 
considered as belonging to the same class, that any general law 
requiring exact uniformity in all, would not meet the wants of 
the people, the varieties having been framed to meet these 
wants. 

Accordingly, the project of 1819,* which contains a parti- 
cular course for the burgher school, has not been adopted, and 

*■ Report of M. Cousin, Amer. Edit., pp. 5C), 57, 



BURGHER SCHOOLS OF PRUSSIA. 269 

though the Royal Cabinet Order of September, 1829,* refers to 
improvements in the burgiier schools generally, as recommended 
to the attention of the minister of public instruction, I am not 
aware that any steps have been taken to produce a more sys- 
tematic arrangement of the class.f 

It is obvious, also, from what has been presented, that the 
elementary instruction requires raising to a higher level than 
at present, namely, to that of which an example has been given 
in the higher elementary school of Weissenfels. That then all 
pupils whose circumstances permit them to devote a longer 
time to education should pass to other schools, of a kind de- 
pending upon their destination in after life, as determined by 
the circumstances of their parents and their own talents. The 
tone of these higher schools would, it appears, require to be 
varied according to the wants of the population among which 
they are placed, whether that of the country, of small towns, or 
of cities. In the cities, it has been seen that one class of burgher 
schools required is provided, and others will be described be- 
longing more properly to a higher grade of instruction, upon 
the province of which, however, these latter decidedly trench. 
An example of a systematic arrangement appropriate to a city 
is afforded by the burgher school of Leipsic, presently to be 
described. Such a plan would, however, be inappropriate to 
a small town, where, of necessity, several schools must be 
united in one. In this case, it would require care to avoid the 
union of incompatible classes of pupils, causing mutual losses of 
time, and giving rise to defective habits of study. The same 
teachers should give instruction in the different departments of 
the school, in the same or kindred subjects, rather than to unite 
different classes. The pupil preparing for the gymnasium 
should not be called upon to study the natural sciences or ma- 
thematics which he will pursue there, and of which he does 
not feel the want for admission, nor the student who is to enter 

* Allgemeine Schul Zeitung, Abth. 1, Niim. 9, quoted by Dr. Hamiscli, "Die 
Deutsche Biirgerschule," p. 99. 

+ See also Harnisch "Die Deutsclie Biirgerschule," page 10], 



270 GENERAL EDUCATIOX. PRIMAUY PERIOD. 

an architectural, commercial, or trade school, the classics 
which the gymnasial student requires for his admission. 

When there are equally good means for the cultivation of 
the faculties, it is clear that the destination of the individual 
should regulate those which are to be applied to his case. As 
this destination usually only appears as the pupil advances in age 
and intellectual development, many different classes must ne- 
cessarily be kept together during the elementary period. Sub- 
sequently, when a separation in the character of the studies be- 
comes expedient, it should, at first, be gradual, to give oppor- 
tunity for the transfer of a pupil from one line to another, and, 
finally, be entirely determined by the nature of the future occu- 
pation. Mental discipline is, doubtless, the chief object of the 
first periods of education, but if it be attainable by the acquisi- 
tion of knowledge directly applicable to the pursuits in life, 
such an advantage is by no means to be neglected. If there 
were but one method for a thorough culture of mind, still, when 
time is allowed for only a partial application of that method, it 
might be expedient to adopt inferior means, which would pro- 
duce a result complete in itself, with the advantage that the 
knowledge used to train the mental powers is also directly ap- 
plicable to the pursuits in life. Where primary education is 
merely to serve as an introduction to secondary, the problem 
is much more simple. 



PRIMARY INSTRUCTION IN SAXONV. 271 



CHAPTER VI. 



PRIMARY INSTRUCTION IN SAXONY. 

The existing law on primary instruction dates only from 
1835,* and is as yet but imperfectly carried into practice, except 
in the provisions which formed the law of the land, and which had 
grown into usage previously to the promulgation of the present 
system. I shall give a very brief sketch of the main features 
of this law, which, in essentials, differs but little from the exist- 
ing decrees in Prussia. At one period of its history, Saxony 
was in advance of Prussia in the character of its public instruc- 
tion, a distinction which it has now lost, but which it is making 
vigorous efforts to regain. 

A number of common schools, corresponding to the wants of 
the people, is ensured by a division of the kingdom into school- 
circuits (schul-bezirke), and all the children residing in each 
circuit must attend the school there established for eight years, 
beginning at least at the age oi six.f No boy can be appren- 
ticed until after the age at which he may lawfully leave school. 
Congregations of different religious persuasions are allowed to 
establish schools in their circuit, and if no other school exists 
than one so established, all the children of the circuit are bound 



* Law No. 60, concerning popular elementary instruction, June 6, 1835. 
(Gesetz das Elementar Volkschulwescn betreftend von 6ten Juni, 1835.) Also No. 
61 : (Dispositions relating to the law on popular elementary instruction, 9th June, 
1835.) (Verordnung zum Gestetze, &c., von 9ten Juni, 1835.) These laws, with 
the regulations for the examination of teachers, a list of a teacher's library, and 
directions for the erection of school-houses, are collected in one volume, by Dr. 
G. L. Schuize, under the title "Das Elementar- volksschulgesetz fur die KOniglich 
Sachsischen Land, &c., mit Inhaltsiibersichten, verschiedenen anmerkungen and 
erlauterungen und cinen volstandigsten register, &c. 

+ There is attached to each school a person whoso duty it is to ascertain the 
causes of the absence of pupils, and wlio is entitled to a small fee from the parents 
for each call he makes upon them. 



272 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

to attend it; they arc not, however, required to take part in the 
reh'gious instruction. 

Every school circuit must furnish a school-house, and a 
dwelling for the teacher. Populous villages are frequently di- 
vided into several circuits. The schools are supported from 
funds of the church, from the interest on donations to the school- 
fund, from fines levied on parents who neglect to send their 
children to school, from a payment made to the school-fund in 
purchases of property, from collections, from the fees paid by 
the pupils, and from direct taxation. These funds are charge- 
able with the master's salary,* with the furniture of the school, 
books and slates for poor children, prizes, insurance, and inci- 
dental expenses. 

According to a census in July, 1832, Saxony contained 273,535 
children between the ajres of six and fourteen vears. Adding 
to this 1126,f the probable increase up to the close of 1832, we 
have at that period 274,661 children required to be in the 
schools. The census for the same period gives 274,305 in the 
elementary and burgher schools, leaving but 356 to be accounted 
for by those under private instruction, and in the lower classes 
of the gymnasia. At the same time there were 4397 pupils 
in the private schools of Dresden and Leipsic alone, besides up- 
wards of 2400 in the lower classes of the gymnasia.J This 
excess is explained, as in the case of the Prussian schools, 
by the fact that children above fourteen and below six years 
of age are included in the number of tiiose reported. It seems, 
then, that as far as the number of pupils in the schools are con- 
cerned, education in Saxony is in a highly satisfactory state.§ 

Each primary school contained, in 1832, at a mean, one hun- 
dred and thirty-four children, those in the country a\^raging 

* The minimum salary is ninety dollars per annum. 

t Deduced from the returns of the Statistical Society of the Kingdom of 
Saxony. 

t Dr. KrOger's translation of Cousin's Report has furnished me with tliese num- 
bers, or with the data for calculating them. Appendix, pp. 218, 219. 

§ The number of children at school is nioi'e than one-sixth of the population 
of Saxony, rated at 1,445,000. The proportion exceeds that in the kingdom of 
Prussia. 



SYSTEM OF PRIMARY mSTRUCTION IN SAXONY. 273 

one hundred and twelve, and each teacher iiad one hundred and 
two pupils under his charge; these facts show that the number 
of schools and the number of teachers both require to be mul- 
tiplied, especially the latter, for in the cities, some of the school- 
houses can properly accommodate a large number of pupils. 

Primary schools in Saxony, as in Prussia, are of two grades. 
In the lower, or elementary school, pupils must receive instruc- 
tion, by law, in: — 1st. Religion. 2d. Exercises of speech and 
reading. 3d. Calligraphy and orthography, with written exer- 
cises on subjects relating to the affairs of common life. 4th. 
Mental and written arithmetic, 5th. Singing. 6th. The most 
important portions of natural history, geography, and history, 
especially those of the country. The details of the school plan 
are left to the teacher and local school-inspector. 

In the higher grade, or lower burgher school,* the amount 
taught in these branches is increased, and exercises of style, 
geometry, and drawing, are added. 

These subjects will be recognised as the same with those of 
the Prussian schools. Physical education is alike left out of 
the general plan in both countries. 

The books used in the Protestant schools are, the Bible, Lu- 
ther's Catechism, the hymn book, and three reading-books, the 
selection of which is made by the local school-inspector. In 
the Roman Catholic schools, the selection of books is left to the 
ecclesiastical authorities. 

The regular time for attendance is six hours on three da}'S 
in the week, and four on two other days, making twenty-six 
hours per week. The vacations are regulated by the church 
festivals, and last about a week at a time. Children above ten 
years of age, in the country, are exempted, during harvest time, 
from attendance at school. 

The punishments are chiefly addressed to the moral senti- 
ments, but corporal chastisement, ''n extreme cases, is allowed. 

* A systematic nomenclature for scliools is yet much needed in Germany. 
In Dresden they apply the title of " I'eal school" to what would be called a lower 
burgher school in Prussia. A normal school in Prussia is a seminary for teach- 
ers, in Austria it is a model hifflier elementary chool. 
3.5 



274 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD, 

Tlie code of discipline is required to be placed in a conspicuous 
situation in the school-room. 

Besides the regular day schools, there are Sunday schools, 
for extending or repeating the lessons learned in the former. 

In order to provide the schools with qualified teachers, can- 
didates are subjected to examination by a committee. No person 
can be licensed who has not attained twenty-one years of age, 
passed one examination as a candidate, served two years as 
an assistant, and passed a second examination of a higher 
grade. The seminaries are expected to furnish the greater 
number of teachers, but as yet have not been able to do so. 
There are six seminaries for teachers, which had, in 1832, two 
hundred and twenty-three pupils; or, including the preparatory 
seminary at Freyburg, two hundred and fifty-three. These 
institutions could not furnish more than between seventy and 
eighty teachers annually, while the primary schools require, 
probably, upwards of one hundred.* It is a remarkable fact, 
that there is no seminary for teachers in Leipsic, and that its 
common schools are still usually supplied with teachers from 
among the candidates of theology. 

The authorities who have the superintendence of public 
instruction, beginning with the lowest, are, first, the local school 
committees and inspectors. These committees are composed 
of at least four members each, one of whom must be a clergy- 
man. If the school has a patron, or founder, he is ex-officio a 
member of the committee. They make regulations for the 
school, holding meetings on fixed days of their own appoint- 
ment. They receive from the master reports of the progress of 
his pupils, of their attendance at school, &c. Public semi-annual 
examinations take place in their presence and in that of the in- 
spector. This latter oflicer is a clergyman. It is his duty to 
visit the school frequently, and to see that the regulations are 
enforced. After the semi-annual examination, he reports to the 

* Calculating on the received proportion, that about four per cent, of the 
whole number of the teachers is required, annually, to supply vacancies. 



SYSTEM OF PRIMARV INSTRUCTION IN SAXONY. 275 

district inspector the state of the classes. If there are schools 
of different religious denominations in a circuit, each denomina- 
tion is entitled to its committee and inspector. 

The next body is the board of inspectors, who have several 
schools under their charge, and to whom the local committees 
are subordinate. Co-ordinate with this board is the district 
school-inspector. The board of inspectors consists of the 
superintendent, an ecclesiastical functionary, of the patrons of 
the different schools, and of the magistracy. The superinten- 
dent is, besides, the district school-inspector. It is his duty to 
visit all the primary schools of his district, private as well as 
public, and in case they are numerous, he is allowed to name a 
clergyman to assist him. He has power to grant leaves of 
absence to teachers, and to supply temporary vacancies. He 
is expected to see that the teachers perform their duties faith- 
fully, and reports upon all these matters to the higher authorities 
once a year. 

The next higher authority is the board of directors of the 
circle (Kreis direction.) Saxony is divided into five circles, in 
each of which a board regulates the school circuits, districts, and 
associations. It has charge of all primary schools, and of the 
seminaries for primary teachers, with the general management 
of the property and funds of the schools, and regulates pecu- 
niary allowances, and appoints or dismisses teachers. 

The minister of public instruction and religious worship is 
the highest authority in school matters. 

The two most important points wdiich I visited in Saxony 
were Dresden* and Leipsic. In the former I examined, 
more or less particularly, six elementaryf and three higher 

* For great facilities in examining- the institutions of Dresden, I am indebted 
to the American consul, E. F. Rivinus, Esq. I owe my thanks in connexion 
with these schools to town councillor Gehe and director Otto, of the normal 
seminary. 

t There is a class of establishments corresponding to the infant schools in 
other places, called Bewahr-Anstalten, literally guardian institutions, which are 
rather nurseries than schools. The children of mothers who go out to work are 
well taken rare of in these estfiblishnirntr,, hut there is little instruction given 



276 GENERAf. EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERluD. 

primary; and in the latter, three large elementary schools, and 
their admirable higher burgher school, which occupied much 
of my attention. The course of instruction in the charity 
school which I examined in Dresden, conforms in general to 
the directions of the law: in the afternoon, however, the pupils 
are occupied in manual labour, the boys in weaving straw and 
spinning, the girls in sewing, knitting, or spinning. It is pro- 
posed to introduce, also, into some of these schools, the art of 
working in wood, which consists of making of this material 
many beautiful articles now usually manufactured of straw.* A 
sedentary employment of this kind, however, should be relieved 
by active physical exercise, which, I regret to say, is as little 
attended to in these schools as in those of other countries in 
general. In the schools attached to the seminary for teachers, 
in the Frederick quarter, the number of pupils in each class is 
not allowed to exceed fifty in general. Much of the instruc- 
tion, however, is given by the young, and comparatively unprac- 
tised, pupils of the seminary, and thus the effect of the former 
good arrangement, is in part neutralized. These pupils are, it 
must be admitted, according to my observation, usually better 
instructors than older teachers who have not had their advan- 
tages, though they are deficient when compared with finished 
theoretical and practical teachers from the same schools. 

The city of Dresden owes to the society for promoting edu- 
cation, (Das Padagogische Verein,) the establishment of the 
class of schools called district schools, (burgher schools,) in 
which general history, geography, geometry, French, and 
drawing, are added to the branches already enumerated as 
composing elementary instruction. The conferences of their 
teachers, held once a month, are of the greatest importance to 
their im])rovement, and from the activit}^ displayed in them, 

* The wood used is aspen, wliich, wlicn cut iu pieces, and soaked in water, be- 
comes touoli. It is cut into strips, and then tliese arc separated into fibres of 
greater or less degree of fineness, according to the articles to be made. These 
consist of mats, bags, baskets, bonnets, blinds for windows, &c. The blinds are 
woven in a loom. 



SYSTEM OF PRIMARY INSTRUCTION IN SAXONY- 277 

I doubt not they will rapidly advance in standing. In the 
Catholic higher primary school, instruction in Latin is furnished, 
in addition to the branches taught in the district schools.* It 
is confined, however, to the two upper classes of the five of 
which the school is composed, which are designated as gym- 
nasium or grammar school classes. The principal part of the 
pupils leave this school in the third class.f 

In Leipsic the public primary schools are of three sorts, the 
first for the use of the children of the poor who receive supplies 
from the public; the second for those who, not belonging to this 
class, would still be burthened by the payment of a school fee; 
the third, the burgher class. Many of the schools for the poor 
are endowed. One of them had, at the period of my visit in 
1838, nine hundred pupils and fourteen teachers, some of whom 
received very good salaries. A second had twelve hundred 
pupils and twelve teachers. In this latter the pupils received 
instruction only during half the day, or eighteen hours per week, 
being divided into two sections, one attending in the morning, 
and the other in the afternoon. During the other half the day 
they were engaged, under superintendence, in the manufacture 
of pasteboard boxes, which are sold for the benefit of the 
school. 

In 1832 there were fifty-one primary schools in Leipsic, in- 
structing 16,603 children. I shall describe the burgher school 
in detail, as one of the most complete in its plan of organization 
which I have seen. This plan is not yet fully reduced to prac- 
tice, and in some of the classes the want of experienced teachers 
renders its execution imperfect, but these imperfections are in- 
cidental to the present circumstances of the school and city, 
and will, under the active spirit now prevailing, be speedily 
changed for the better. 

* The fees in all these schools are exceedingly low ; in the " real school," 
attached to the seminary, the highest fee is three dollars and ninety cents per 
annum; in the Catholic high school, nine dollars per annum. 

t I am indebted to tlie inspector of this school, the clergyman of the Conrt 
Church, (Hof-prediger,) Pater Dicttrich, for vcrv vulnahle introductions. 



278 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

BURGHER SCHOOL OF LEIPSIC. 

This school* is dosigned to educate children of the middle 
ranks of society, and those of the upper ranks whose parents 
wish thein to receive a public education. 

It is composed: . FirsU Of an elementary school {or both boys 
and girls, which pupils should enter at six years of age. There 
are three classes, in the lowest of which the two sexes are 
taught in the same room. The pupils are retained, in general, 
a year and a-half to two years, leaving this department at eight 
years of age and proceeding to the next higher. 

Second. The burgher school proper. Here the boys and 
girls receive instruction separately. There are six classes for 
boys, each of which occupies a year. After passing through 
the three lower classes, the sixth, fifth, and fourth, the pupils 
begin separate courses, according to their inclination or sup- 
posed destination in life. This is at about eleven years of age. 
Those who are intended for trades, and whose school education 
must finish at fourteen, to enable them to begin their appren- 
ticeship, pass through the remaining classes, the third, second, 
and first of the burgher school. 

Other boys who are intended to pursue higher departments 
of mechanical occupations, or for manufacturers, clerks, miners, 
foresters, stewards of estates, merchants, artists, civil officers, 
&LC., pass into the department called the " real school" termi- 
nating their course there at about sixteen years of age. Others 
who are intended for the learned professions go at eleven to a 
gymnasium, pass through its classes at eighteen, and enter the 
university, being prepared for a profession at twenty-one. 

Third. The " real school'^ or higher burgher school. In this 
there are four classes, intended to occupy together about five 
years, and to prepare the pupils to enter a commercial, poly- 
technic, architectural, or mining academy, according to his vo- 
cation. Omitting the girls' school, the scheme thus marked out 
will appear better by the following skeleton. 

* Now under the charge of director Vogel, wlio has been called to Leipsic, and 
under whose administration this must become a most flourisliing- establishment. 
Its lower classes are already so crowded as to require division. 



BURGHER SCHOOL OF LEIPSIC. 



279 



Elemen- 
tary 
School, 

Three 
classes. 



Burgher 
School. 



Three classes. 

Pupils 8 to 11 
Pupils 6 to years of age. 
8 years of 



Higher 

Burgher 
School. 

Three classes. 

Pupils 11 to 14 

years of age. 



The pupils are apprenticed on leav- 
ing the school. 



Or, 



Real School of four classes. 
Pupils 11 to 16 years of age, and pass to a 
polytechnic, com- 
mercial, mining, 
architectural, Sfc. 
academy. 
Or, 

Gymnasium (grammar school) of six classes. 
Pupils 11 to 18 years of age. They pass to tiie uni- 
versity, where, 
after a course of 
three years, they 
may be admit- 
ted to one of the 
learned profes- 
sions. 

A plan at once convenient and rational is thus marked out 
for a youth's education, depending upon the views of his pa- 
rents, their circumstances, and his own talents and dispositions. 
The first four named schools are united in one building, erected 
by the liberahty of the town of Leipsic, and have the same 
director. 

The subjects and the order of succession of the different 
courses are good; there is a constant reference to the ultimate 
object of the instruction, and no branches are inserted in the 
programme merely for the purpose of preparing pupils for the 
higher classes of other schools. It is, on the contrary, considered 
better that pupils should obtain access to them through the 
lower classes of the same school. By detainingthem here, injury 
would be done to both schools. The primary instruction which 
is common to all the pupils embraces a moderate number of 
branches, and terminates at an age when experience has shown 
that the culture by the ancient languages should be no longer 



280 GENERAL EDUCATIOX. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

postponed, in the case of those who are intended for the learned 
professions, and when the studies of others destined for the arts 
should take a different direction. The question, whether the 
proper age has been adopted for this separation is wholly one 
of experience, and the facts in reference to it will be submitted 
in speaking of secondary instruction. 

The subjects taught and the time they occupy in the elemen- 
tary school agree very closely with those of the first two classes 
in the seminary school of Berlin. Drawing on slates and sing- 
ing are both introduced here, constituting an advantage over 
the other; they are brought in as a relief from intellectual ex- 
ercises, and as objects of direct attainment. The number of 
hours of duty is but four on four days of the week, and two on 
each of the others. These might, I think, be increased to the 
standard of the primary schools, twenty-four hours per week, 
without fear of over-tasking the pupils; and if a portion of the 
time were bestowed on judiciously arranged exercises, the phy- 
sical as well as moral education would be improved. The moral 
training of the play-ground is not as yet an element in any of 
the German systems. The same master teaches in succession 
all the studies of his class. 

The pupils pass from the third to the second class at the end 
of six months, a change which is favourable to their progress, 
since at this early age strongly marked differences appear soon 
after entering the school. With a similar view of fitness in re- 
gard to their age, the plan of daily exercises is not rigorously 
prescribed, but is merely indicated to serve as a general guide 
in relation to the time to be devoted to the different subjects. 

I found occasion in this school to remark the danger of de- 
feating the exercises of induction, by making them merely 
mechanical, by the reception of fixed answers to invariable 
questions: and, also, the necessity of selecting very simple 
melodies for the early exercises in singing: beyond these, the 
exertion of the voice of the child, so far from being a physical 
benefit, is a positive injury. My preference for beginning 
arithmetic with a reference to sensible objects, that is. by de- 
nominate numbers, was again strongly conlirmed. 



BURGHER SCHOOL OF LEIPSIC. 281 

It might seem impossible to determine how many pupils of a 
definite age might, with advantage, be entrusted to the care of one 
teacher under a given method of instruction. The average for 
branches of the same kind is not, however, so wide from the ex- 
tremes as might at first be supposed. In the simuhaneous method, 
the skill of the teacher is the chief determining quality. The va- 
rious subordinate ones depending upon the pupil, the particular 
exercise, the arrangements in reference to ventilation, warmth, 
&c., will readily suggest themselves. In the midst of all these, 
the average shows itself to attentive observation. It is easy to 
see how many pupils are attending to what is going on, and if 
the teacher be skilled in his art, the number is thus obtained, 
which a class should not exceed. For the intellectual exercises, 
I obtained in this way from thirty-five to forty in the German 
schools as the maximum number of an elementary class; the 
observation in reference to the classes of the best teachers 
here confirmed these numbers. In the mechanical branches, 
the number of pupils may be very much increased, without ma- 
terial injury to the instruction, and hence the classification 
which suits them is not adapted to the intellectual departments. 

The principal subjects of instruction in the hurglier scliooJ, in- 
cluding both the lower and higher departments, are religion and 
morals, German, French, arithmetic, geometry, natural history, 
history, geography, calligraphy, drawing, and vocal music, and 
to these are added in the highest classes technology and physics. 
The list differs from that of the Dorothean higher city school, 
and the seminary school of Berlin, in the omission of Latin 
and the introduction of technology and physics, both which dif- 
ferences mark the proper character of the school. It is not in- 
tended that the upper classes shall prepare pupils for the higher 
classes of the gymnasium, but that those who are to be trained 
in the classical studies shall have previously passed to the lower 
classes of the gymnasium, where they properly belong, and 
where they can obtain the instruction appropriate to their ob- 
jects. The distribution of lime is shown in the annexed table, 
which is similar in its arrangement to those already given. 
36 



282 



GENERAL EDUGATIOiV. PRIMARY PERIOD. 



Plan of instruction in the higher and lower burgher schools of Leipsic. 



SUBJECTS 

OF 

INSTRUCTION. 



BURGHER SCHOOL FOR BOYS. 



Higher School. Lower School 



^ £ 



Religious Instruction, - - - . 
German Language,* .... 

French, ........ 

Arithmetic, ....... 

Geometry, ....... 

Natural History, 

Technology, ....... 

Physics, ........ 

Geography, 

History, ........ 

Writing, ........ 

Drawing, - ....... 

Singing 

Total, 



33 



^ o 

g CO ^ CJ 



33 



33 



^^ 






28 



28 



2§ 



26 



The increase in the number of branches as the pupils rise to 
the upper classes, seems to me judiciously made in this plan. 
At the same time, the number of hours per week is gradually 

* This includes the exercises of reading. 

t In this is included an hour of preparatory exercises for geometry. 

t Anthropology. 

§ Elementary natural history and natural philosophy. 



BURGHER SCHOOL OF LEIPSIC. ' 283 

increased, and perhaps beyond the due limit, though it would 
require longer attention than I could give to this institution to 
affirm positively that this is the case. Comparing the pro- 
gramme with that of the classes of corresponding age in the 
seminary school of Berlin, a general similarity appears through- 
out, although each has distinctive features. In the sixth class, 
of which the pupils are of the same age with those of the fourth 
in the seminary school, a few lessons of natural history and 
geography (" knowledge of home") are given, and wuth ad- 
vantage. The number of hours per week devoted to the dif- 
ferent studies is nearly the same in both schools. 

In the fifth class, natural history and history are introduced 
in the burgher school, and in its corresponding classes in the 
seminary school, Latin, French, and geometry. The number 
of hours of arithmetical instruction is greater in this school 
than in the other. 

A similar difference continues in the fourth class, as it is not 
the object to begin French until after those who leave the 
school at fourteen have terminated their course. The elemen- 
tary exercises of geometry are begun in this class of the burgher 
school. 

The third class is the first or lowest of the higher burgher 
school, and the programme of this and of the second agree in 
the main with those of the seminary school. Greater attention 
is devoted to religious instruction, to arithmetic, and drawing, 
and less to French, in the burgher than in the seminary school. 
The number of hours given to the first named branch in the 
burgher school is double that in the other, and the number to 
the last only one-half, which is probably too small an allotment 
for the object. Technology and physics are taken up in the 
first class of the Leipsic school, and Latin is continued through 
all those of the Berlin institution. 

In regard to the plan of treating the subjects of instruction, 
the following is a comparison of the two schools : 

1. In religious instruction, the general train is the same, be- 
ing more detailed in the burgher school, and having a special 
course of moral?; in the higher classes. Tn general, the Gey- 



284 GENERAL EDUCATION'. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

man institutions are very free from an objection urged to a 
course of religious instruction, in a former part of my Re- 
port, namely, that it was addressed rather to the understanding 
than to the heart. There is no express instruction in morals, 
but it is because the morals of the Scriptures mingle with their 
daily lessons, and no special course is needed, until a more ad- 
vanced age, than that embraced by these schools in general. 

2. The course of German language (including composition) 
and reading is parallel with that of the Berlin seminary school, 
except in the two higher classes. In these a turn is given to 
the compositions to adapt them to the peculiar destination of 
the pupils, who are also exercised in speaking, by reading dia- 
logues and brief dramatic pieces. In a country enjoying a 
constitutional government, the art of public speaking may not 
be neglected by its citizens. 

3. The course of French, in the burgher school, struck me as 
rather defective, probably from the small amount of time which 
is devoted to it, as alread}'^ stated. 

4. Mathematics. The courses of arithmetic and geometry are 
also parallel with those in the seminary school. The mathe- 
matical studies here are extended further in algebra, and in- 
clude logarithms, mensuration, and surveying. 

5. Nalaral history, physics, and technology. The early be- 
ginnings of this course are exercises in induction, directed 
particularly to awakening habits of observation and reflection. 
Later, some of the more interesting parts of natural history are 
taken up, and, finally, the subject is treated somewhat systema- 
tically, and a technological direction given to it. The physics 
consists of such popular notions of natural phenomena as should 
be possessed by all. The technology explains the processes 
of some of the common arts and trades. 

G. The course of geography begins like that already de- 
scribed at Halle, but subsequently pursues the inverse order, giv- 
ing an idea of the earth as a part of the world, its form, motions, 
&c. Director Vogel has conceived the plan of presenting the 
parts of the earth always in their just proportions, as upon the 
sphere, and lias contrived for this purpose a globe, which may 



BURGHER SCHOOL OP LEIPSIC. 285 

be divided through the equator or through a meridian. The 
hemisphere being suspended with its plane surface against the 
wall, presents the convex surface, with its delineations, in true 
proportion. This idea he proposes to extend, by substituting for 
maps, in the early recitations, portions of spherical surfaces, 
with the delineations of the countries upon them. 

After taking a general survey of the different countries, espe- 
cially those of Europe, the pupils pass to the geography of 
Germany. They then enter more into the details of the coun- 
tries of Europe, draw maps, and, finally, study mathematical 
and physical geography in a scientific form. To carry out his 
views of the connexion of history, natural history, and ethno- 
graphy with geography, director Vogel has prepared a school 
atlas upon a new plan. The vignettes surrounding the maps 
contain illustrations of these difl^erent kindred branches, and ad- 
dress the eye of the learner, thus impressing the memory with 
their connexion with the countries delineated. For example, 
around the maps representing the different quarters of the globe 
are the characteristic plants, animals, and men of the difierent 
regions near to the portions of the country where they are 
found. The more detailed maps of the countries give a view 
of their natural productions, represent the more prominent or 
characteristic qualities of the nation, the arts which flourish 
more particularly among them, and give medallions pourtray- 
ing their great historical characters, or including the names of 
their distinguished men, or the dates of important historical 
events. The execution of this work is highly satisfactory, and 
I am convinced of the advantages of the plan itself. 

7. The historical course, as far as it is distinct from that 
last mentioned, agrees, in its general features, with that of the 
Berlin seminary school, being, however, more minute. 

8. Writing and drawing. In learning to write, the classes 
begin with small hand, and succeed better than is usual upon 
that plan, probably from the attention, at the same time, to 
drawing. The last named branch is taught by Schmidt's 
method. The teacher has made an admirable collection of 
models in wood and plaster, of geometrical solids, of machines, 



286 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

of buildings, bridges, and the like, of ornaments, &c., and brings 
his class forward in this kind of drawing very rapidly. Only 
the more elementary parts of tliese collections, however, are 
used for the classes of the burgher school. 

9. Vocal music is taught as in the other schools. 

The particular method which the teacher pursues in his in- 
struction is left much to the individual, the director remarking 
justly, that if he is competent to his place, his method must be 
good. He has for his guide, however, a programme indicating 
the degree of proficiency which his class must show at fhe end 
of the year. 

In the lower classes of a school like this, if the pupils have 
been previously well trained, a larger number can be instructed 
by the siQiultaneous method than in the elementary classes, in 
a subject of the same kind. This advantage is lost as the 
course becomes higher, and the scale turns again in proportion 
as individual teaching becomes more desirable, with increased 
individual development and diflerences in mental quality. The 
simultaneous method requires watchfulness on the part of the 
teacher, not to deceive himself as to the progress of his class. 
It is, of course, rarely that a question cannot be answered by 
some of them, while the mass may be entirely ignoi-ant in rela- 
tion to the subject. I have seen both skill and attention fall into 
the mistake to which I refer. 

Between each of the hours of recitation there are a few mi- 
nutes of interval, during which the classes leave the school- 
rooms. This is an arrangement favour-able to health, and 
worthy of imitation. 

The lower classes have each a teacher for all the subjects, a 
system which is gradually changed in the higher classes for 
that of a teacher for a single subject. Drawing and singing 
are taught by special instructors in the higher classes. 

The classes for girls are similar to those described, the in- 
struction being modified so as to render it more applicable to 
the sex. 

The plan of instruction in the " Real School," the highest of 
which this establishment is composed, can hardly be said fo 



BURGHER SCHOOL OF LEIPSIC. 287 

have received, as yet, its ultimate form. Tiie school belongs 
to the class of secondary instruction, running parallel with the 
gymnasium, and preparing for the university of the arts, or 
polytechnic school, as the other prepares for the university of 
the learned professions. The branches taught, and which I may 
enumerate, to complete the description of the institution, are, 

1. Religious instruction. 2. German. 3. French. 4. Eng- 
lish. 5. Mathematics, including algebra; geometry, trigono- 
metry, plane and spherical; practical surveying; a review of 
arithmetic and technical arithmetic. 6. Physics and chemistry. 
7. Natural history. 8. History. 9. Geography. 10 Calli- 
graphy. 11. Drawing. 12. Vocal music. 

The separate branches in this school are in general taught by 
special instructors. The methods of Pestalozzi are considered 
by the director as less applicable to the higher than to the lower 
courses. But I doubt this, for though much less frequently ap- 
plied, I have seen them used with good effect in advanced 
courses. The opposite method takes up less time if the object 
be to communicate positive knowledge, and the importance of 
this object certainly increases, and even becomes paramount, in 
the later parts of the student's career. The objection urged to 
this plan does not apply in the case of those subjects which are 
continuous through a series of years, but to such as are broken 
up into a number of kindred branches, the elements of which 
are to be taught at different, and even at advanced stages of 
the course. 

The plan of special study hours for those whose parents wish 
them to be prepared for their lessons under the direction of a 
teacher, has been adopted in this school. 

MODEL, OR BURGHER SCHOOL AT FRANKFORT ON THE MAINE. 
I conclude the account of the German burgher schools, 
which the interesting nature of the subject has induced me to 
present somewhat at length, by a brief notice of the model 
school, (muster-schule,) or burgher school* of Frankfort on 

* Under the direction of Mr. Bag-ge, an able and experienced teacher. 



288 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

the Maine. This is one of the best conducted of the many 
which I have seen, and is of great importance to the city which 
supports it, and whose authorities have the superintendence 
of it. It differs from those ah-eady described in two points; in 
the first, that the rehgious instruction is general, and not sec- 
tarian; and second, that the French language has much time 
devoted to it, as being indispensable at Frankfort to the class 
for whom the school is intended. The school plan, with the 
hours of instruction, will occupy but little more space than a 
bare enumeration of the subjects taught. It is the result of 
much experience, and of changes from time to time, to keep 
the school up to the level of the instruction of the day. It pre- 
sents a well digested course for pupils from six to fourteen or 
fifteen years of age. As usual, the figures refer to the number 
of hours occupied per week by the several subjects of study. 



MODEL BURGHER SCHOOL OF FRANKFORT ON THE MAINE. 289 



Table of the plan of exercises at the Frankfort Model School, 1836-7. 



SUBJECTS OF STUDY. 


o3 

O 


Q 
T3 

C 

o 
o 
o 




O 

p 




CO 


"S 

> 

CO 


O 


Religious Instruction, - - . 


211 


211 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 


14 


Exercises of Thought and Speech,* 












2 


2 


4 


German Language, .... 


G 


4 


4 


4 


4 


G 


10 


38 


French, 


G 


G 


6 


G 


6 






30 


Geography,t 


2 


4 


4 


4 








14 


Natural Philosophy, .... 


9 















4 


Mathematical Geograph3%t - - 


2 














2 


Technology and Chemistry, - - 


2 














2 


History, ........ 


4 















6 


Arithmetic and Algebra,^ - . 


6 


6 












12 


Arithmetic, 






4 


6 


6 


6 


6 


28 


Algebra, . , 






2 










2 


Geometry, 


4 


2 


2 


2 


2 






12 


Lessons of form, 












2 




2 


Writing, - 




2 


4 


4 


4 


6 


6 


26 


Drawing, - 




2 


o 


2 


2 


2 




10 


Total, . . - 




2 


o 





2 






8 


36 


34 


32 


32 


28 


26 


26 





* Exercises of induction. 

t Combined with elementary physics, or a popular view of natural phenomena. 
t And popular astronomy. 
§ Higher arithmetic. 
I) The two classes united. 
37 



290 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

The elementary classes are confined to few subjects, and 
which are introductory to those of the higher classes, and cal- 
culated to develope the moral principles, the intellect, and readi- 
ness in the mechanical branches of instruction. The sphere is 
then widened, by introducing a foreign language, the study of 
natural phenomena, and of form. In the advanced classes, as 
constituting a preparation for the pupil's future career, a more 
systematic account of the earth and its productions, of man and 
his actions, as recorded in history, and of the processes of art, 
are furnished him. The programmes of the last two schools 
which have been under discussion, are both liable to the objec- 
tion of attempting too much in the last year. 

The physical education is so far attended to in this school, 
as to provide a very neat and tolerably spacious play-ground,^ 
and to give an interval for play during the morning hours. 



graser's system op education. 291 



CHAPTER VII. 

COMMON SCHOOLS OF BAYREUTH IN BAVARIA, AND DR. GRA- 
SER'S SYSTExlI OF EDUCATION. 

The reputation of Dr. Graser's system, among certain of the 
teachers of Germany, induced me to visit Bayreuth, where he 
resides, to examine, under his direction, the scliools which 
pursue his method of education. Dr. Graser rejects equally the 
communication of positive knowledge and the giving of intel- 
lectual culture as the true ground-work of a system of educa- 
tion; he considers these as incidental objects, and that the 
principles of a system are to be sought a "priori, by a considera- 
tion of the purpose of education, of man as its recipient, and of 
the subjects or branches of instruction. 

His system, therefore, professes to reject every thing like an 
•arbitrary assemblage of branches, and to present a rational 
plan for selecting the subjects of instruction, and for determin- 
ing their succession. It must require a mind brought up in a 
similar school, to enter into the philosophy, so called, of this 
system, and I do not propose to attempt a full view of it.* I 
shall, however, briefly state what appears to me its chief prin- 
ciples, of which, though they may be true in the abstract, I 

* It may be objected to even this brief notice, that it is going out of my way, 
and that, if followed, it would require an examination of the system of Jacotot as 
well as of this. This objection has not escaped me, but Graser's system is little 
known among us, while Jacotot's has been often discussed. I visited the school of 
one of Jacotot's most prominent pupils, at Paris, and must say, that the results 
seemed to me more sliowy than sound. Dr. Graser's principal works are Divini- 
tat, oder das Prinzip der einzig wahren Menschenerziehung, &c.; Divineness, or 
the Principle of the only true Education for Men, &c.; Die Elementar Schule 
fiirs Leben, &c.; Elementary School for Life, and das Verhaltnisse des Elemen- 
tarunterrichts zur Politik der Zeit, Dependance of Elementary Instruction on the 
Political Circumstances of the Time, &c. There is a good and quite full sketch 
of Dr. Graser's system in Krrtger's Journey through Germany, Reisen durch 
Deutschland, <SlC. 



292 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PfiRlOD. 

confess that I do not perceive the peculiar applicability. I shall 
then pass to the practice, which may be of interest, even if the 
theory should not be deemed satisfactory. 

After considering the constitution of man, Dr. Graser lays 
down the principle, that he is destined to live in accordance 
with it, and in the pursuit of holiness (godliness, divinitat). The 
child must be educated in reference to this destination. Man 
requires strength of body, hence physical education, and of 
soul (virtue), hence moral education. His bodily strength 
must be rendered available by dexterity, his virtue, by pru- 
dence. Both must be directed by intelligence, hence intellectual 
education. Besides, he must have a just sense of the harmony 
in the relations of life, or a feeling of fitness, or beauty, hence 
aesthetical education. As a condition of his being, man stands 
in certain relations to external nature, to his fellow men, and 
to God. Instruction in nature, man, and God, must, therefore, 
form the materials of his education. Nature must be viewed 
in its productions, the objects of natural history, or its pheno- 
mena, the objects of natural philosophy, or physics. To com- 
plete the study of nature, geography, arithmetic, geometry and 
its applications, and drawing, must be called in, and the prac- 
tical application of the study includes technology and domestic 
economy. The study of man requires that of the theory of 
gymnastics, dietetics, history, and geography. To approach to 
God, man must know him. The first form of godhness is 
truth. God's truth, then, as revealed, should be man's study. 
The second form is justice; jurisprudence in higher education, 
or the laws of the land in lower, should, therefore, also form a 
part of man's studies, and as accessory subjects, history and 
grammar. The third is love, taught through morals or practi- 
cal religion. The fourth is beauty, requiring the study of paint- 
ing, music, poetry, and decorum. Graser next endeavours to 
modify the several subjects of education, according to the 
special wants of those who are to receive it, which he con- 
siders to depend upon their political situation. Thus, for his 
country, he divides men into three classes, the people, or go- 
verned; the nobles; and the reigning family, or governors. 



GRASER*S SYSTEM OF EDUCATION. 293 

The first he considers as more concerned with material ob- 
jects, the otliers with the ideal, or spiritual, and hence adopts 
two divisions of the subjects of study, as calculated for their 
schools. 

In the arrangement of instruction, his principle, that the 
school must prepare for actual life, is brought into play. He 
admits no separation into branches of study, no natural order 
of succession in the branches, but insists that all instruction 
shall be grouped according to the wants of some particular 
mode of life. Taking society as the state of man's existence, 
he begins instruction with the paternal mansion of the child and 
his family relations, and attaches to these all the elementary 
knowledge of morals, manners, speech, number, form, objects, 
drawing, and writing, which would be found necessary in this 
sphere. He next widens the sphere to include the place of re- 
sidence, with its community; extends it to the circle or judicial 
district, to the province, to the country, to the assemblage of the 
German states, the division of the earth, the entire earth, the 
universe. 

The application of Graser's principles to a common school 
will be best understood by following up the course of instruc- 
tion as far as it has been developed in one of the schools of 
Bayreuth.* 

The sixth, or loioest class, is instructed in what relates to 
family life. The exterior of the house. Its interior. Its in- 
habitants. Their wants. 

The classification followed in Wiirst's reading-book will show, 
generally, the way in v.-hich these subjects are taught. 

* Dr. Graser is not himself a teacher, nor has he, at present, the means of en- 
forcing-, by authority, the adoption of his methods; lience they have not the ad- 
vantage of execution by the designer, nor do tliey appear in all the classes of this 
school. To the kind attention of Dr. Graser I was indebted for an opportunity of 
visiting three of the common schools of Bayreuth, in which his method was 
more or less used. In speaking of the principles of this method, I have endea- 
voured to keep in view the respect which is due to the personal character and 
zeal of Dr. Graser, and also the fact that, having been educated in a totally dif- 
ferent atmosphere, as it were, I should be likely to err in forming an estimate of 
the value of similar speculations, I have" aimed, therefore, at giving an account 
of the system, as far as I understand it, leaving to others to pass judgment on it. 



294 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

1. The paternal mansion, considered as the dwelling-place of the family. 
Houses and huts. Stones and lime, (Story of an accident from playing with 
lime.) The walls and the roof. Doors and windows. (History of the discovery 
of glass.) Eartjj, fire, water, and light. Comparison of building materials. 
Gloom, darkness, light, shadow. Property. Owner. Rectitude, Goodness. 
Decorum. Politeness. (Story of the polite and the rude boy.) Pilfering. Theft. 
Robbery. Robbens. 2. The inmates of the house. Enumeration of them. 
Exterior distinctions between the men and animals. Distinctive qualities of the 
different domestic animals. The poultry. Further distinctions between men and 
animals. Voice. Speech as a characteristic of man. Power of induction. Mo- 
ral order of the family. (The intractable child.) Uses of the domestic animals, 
obligations towards them. (Tormentors of animals.) Noxious domestic animals. 
Conduct towards them. Flies. Spiders. Review of conduct towards animals 
in general. 3. Wants of the inmates of the house. The dwelling itself. Fur- 
niture and clothing. Arrangements for their preservation. Inviolability of the 
property of children and servants. Activity and offices of parents. Duties of 
children towards their parents. 

This course is commenced between six and seven years of 
age, and occupies about six months. I shall go into some 
particulars in regard to parts of the instruction. 1. The dwell- 
ing-house. — The teacher shows a model of a simple dwell- 
ing-house, of which the gable end may be removed, and is a 
rectangular block, surmounted by a triangle. The teacher 
takes off the triangle, and counts the number of its sides audi- 
bly; this part of the house has how many sides? is his question. 
Three. He shows that it has also three corners, or asks how 
many corners, leaving to the more intelligent pupils to lead the 
class in the answer, and when the answer is obtained, causing 
it to be repeated by all. Watching the class, if he finds inat- 
tention, he addresses the question where it prevails, giving the 
pupils as much as possible to find out, in order to keep up their 
attention as long as their physical constitution will permit. A 
change of subject, physical exercise, or rest, should be allowed 
when the attention is exhausted, the habit of which may be 
gradually established by training. This inductive course, com- 
bined with repetition, is always employed, and in what follows 
I shall merely indicate the order of the instruction. The figure in 
question is three-cornered. Interior corners are called angles.* 

* In German the space formed by the meeting of two iinef: viewed from th*- 



GRASER'S SYSTEM OF EDUCATION- Ji^i>5 

It is a three-angled figure, and called a triangle. Next, the 
four-sided figure is similarly treated. Then the triangular cap 
is set upon the rectangle, forming a five-sided figure. This 
part of the model is now placed before the children to draw 
upon the slate, with the following preliminary instruction. 
Each group of three or four children, or, if convenient, each 
child, is furnished with a rectangle of pasteboard, or thin wood, 
in which five holes are pierced, corresponding to the five an- 
gular points of the pentagon to be drawn. These are marked 
on the slate by inserting the points of the pencil through the 
holes, and the child is practised in joining the points by hand. 
Practice in this constitutes his first drawing-lesson. Returning 
to the rectangular part of the model, the positions of the verti- 
cal and horizontal boundary lines are pointed out, and a plum- 
met and common mason's level are shown, to give a notion 
how these lines are established in practice, and a correct idea 
of their actual positions. Attention is next called to the hori- 
zontal side of the triangular cap, then to the sloping sides. A 
comparison of the angles which they form with the horizon, 
and that formed by the horizontal and vertical lines, leads to 
the distinction between acute and right angles. The objects of 
a triangular roof, and of the rectangular lower part of the house, 
are next stated. An obtuse-angled polygonal roof is substituted 
for the one already mentioned. The form gives an illustration 
of the obtuse-angle, placing it upon the model leads to counting 
as far as seven. Dividing the house into stories by lines, to 
counting to nine. The children are next led to enumerate the 
parts of the house as shown in the model, and with the names 
of which they are of course familiar — as the doors, windows, 
&c. The distinction betw^een squares and rectangles is made 
obvious. The parallelogram and rhomb are also here intro- 
duced. The distinction between curved and straight lines, &c. 
Difl:erent simple drawings of cottages are made. Counting is 
continued to ten. Addition is commenced by referring to the 

interior, or from the exterior, has different names, and the compounds of these, 
with the numerals three, four, five, &.C., constitute the names of tlie figures, as 
drey-eck, vier-eck, &c. 



29G GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

number of panes in the windows of the model, covering up 
those not to be added, and proceeding from smaller to larger 
numbers, within the limits of ten. These are extended to one 
hundred, stating to the children the mode of formation of com- 
pound numbers, to assist their memory. Subtraction is intro- 
duced by reference to the same illustrations. Mental arith- 
metic alone is practised. In adding numbers w'hich exceed 
ten, the tens are first added, then the units, carrying to the tens, 
if necessary: thus, in adding twenty-two and thirty-nine toge- 
ther, their process would be, twenty-two is two tens and two 
ones — thirty-nine, three tens and nine ones; two tens and three 
tens are five tens; two ones and nine ones are eleven ones, or 
one ten and one one; five tens and one ten are six tens, and one, 
sixty-one. Multiplication is begun also by a reference to the 
window-panes, which afford, usually, many combinations. Di- 
vision is similarly treated, the question being such as the chil- 
dren would take an interest in solving, and their coins are early 
explained to them, and made the subjects of their exercises. 
Fractions grow naturally from division. The foregoing instruc- 
tion is interspersed with other matters yet to be described. 

In fact, there is no fixed order of exercise, or school-plan, ac- 
cording to Graser's method, but the teacher is relied upon to 
advance the different parts of the instruction duly, according 
to his observation of the progress of the class. 

The elements of physics, natural history, technology, and 
domestic economy, are thus introduced, it being understood 
that the same mixed method of question and answer, and of 
direct and inductive teaching, is used throughout. Men did not 
always live in houses, but once in caves and huts. The incon- 
veniences of such places from cold, damp, &c., are pointed 
out. The materials required for a house, as stone, mortar, 
wood, iron, &c. Most of the children have seen the operation 
of building, and can tell the materials required; those who have 
not observed, will probably not let an opportunity pass after- 
wards of so doing. Whence the stone is procured, quarries, 
quarrymen. The hewing of stone. Limestone and lime — the 
objects being presented to them. The conversion of the lime- 



A PRIMARY SCHOOL OF BAYREUTH. 297 

stone into lime. The slaking of lime, making of mortar, lis 
hardening, laying the stones. Digging of the trench for the 
foundations, &c. 

Next the wood is taken for the subject of a lesson. The dis- 
tinction of wood from fruit trees and forest trees is shown. 
Shaping of the wood by sawing. Beams. Planks. Boards. 
Laths. Trade of house-carpenter. Of joiner, &c. In the same 
way iron is treated of Bricks and tiles. Glass. 

In recapitulating these matters, or in presenting new ones, the 
elements of grammar are begun. The nouns and adjectives 
are easily distinguished from the other parts of speech by the 
induction of the pupils themselves, when directed in the right 
way. 

Used as incidental matters of instruction, but not as forming 
its ground-work, it appears to me that the foregoing subjects 
are of value, and that useful hints may be gathered from the 
way of treating them ; hence, I am led to remark upon certain 
sources of difficulty in their execution. The instruction may be 
rendered wholly ineffective by the teacher treating the subject 
in a mechanical way, so that what is intended to excite the 
observing and reflecting faculties, especially the former, shall 
become a mere memory of words. It may be rendered actu- 
ally mischievous by the teacher inculcating erroneous ideas of 
natural phenomena and natural history. The teacher's guide 
should be prepared with care, and revised by adepts in the 
sciences, to avoid such mischief, which 1 have known to occur 
in many cases.* 

Elementary ideas of right and wrong, of goodness, of " fit- 
ness" ("the beautiful"), are inculcated in the following way: 
The dwelling being still under discussion, the attention is called 
to the parts of the door, its lock, &c. The object of the door 



* To show that this is not imaginary, I may mention _^that, in a scliool where 
the subject of tlie caustic nature of lime, and of its heating during slaking, were 
under examination, they were explained thus: — the limestone was turned into 
lime by heat, in which process it absorbed a great deal of heat, which made it 
burning, or caustic; when water is thrown upon it, tlie water unites with the 
lime, and this heat escapes, 
38 



298 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

and its fastenings. Who may rightfully enter a house. The 
right to put out those entering wrongfully. A story is told 
here of a poor child begging for admission to a house during a 
storm — cold, hungry, and ill-clothed. The child is received and 
supplied. The moral is drawn from the children, and bene- 
volence, love to man, is inculcated. In entering a strange 
house or a room, leave must be asked. The contrast of good 
and bad manners in making or answering the request is brought 
home to the children. The subject is next followed up by suppos- 
ing an unlawful entry made into the dwelling, and the difference 
between theft and burglary, or stealing and robbing, is brought 
out. The smallest possible theft of any kind, or pilfering, is im- 
moral. A story is told to illustrate the fate of the pilferer. 

Next the inmates of the house and out-houses form subjects 
of instruction, the mode of treating which will easily be con- 
ceived by referring again to the general enumeration of the ar- 
rangement of the subjects. Exercises of speech and thought, 
natural history of domestic animals, and much elementary 
technological information, are thus introduced. Proverbs are 
committed to memory, inculcating moral lessons or duties. 

The next head furnishes an opportunity to examine the wants 
of the inmates of the house, the topography of the dwelling and 
its grounds, as introductory to geography, the construction and 
uses of the furniture in continuation of technology, and to intro- 
duce the drawing of simple articles of furniture. Speech is 
considered as the means of communicating between the mem- 
bers of a family. Other modes of communicating ideas by signs 
and gestures are adverted to. The sight may be addressed 
through pictures as substitutes for verbal descriptions addressed 
to the ear. Hieroglyphics or signs may be substituted for pic- 
tures. Trials of these are resorted to, as, for example, the curve 
of the forefinger and thumb forming a C, may be imitated on the 
slate, and understood to stand for " come here." A number of 
signs, having reference to letters subsequently to be formed, and 
to their actual use in the spelling of words, are taught to the chil- 
dren, who at first are delighted with these acquisitions, but after 
a time find the accumulation of signs very troublesome. This 



I 



A PRIMARY SCHOOL OF BAYREUTH. 299 

is supposed to prepare the way for a zeal in acquiring writing 
and reading. To connect tiie written with tiie spoken language, 
Dr. Graser goes back to the origin of the former, and imagines 
that the forms of the letters result, in general, from an attempt 
to imitate the position of the lips, or lips and tongue, in sounding 
the component parts of a word. This requires a difficult and 
in many cases a most fanciful* connexion to be formed in the 
mind of the pupil between the sound and its sign. Four dif- 
ferent series of lines are ruled by the pupils upon the slates, on 
which they write; one is a set of two parallels for the standard 
letters; another of three parallels for the letters which project 
above the standard lines, the interval between the upper two 
being less than that between the lower; another set, also of three 
parallels, for the letters which extend below, and a fourth for 
those which extend in both directions. Words are formed as 
soon as possible, and of a kind intelligible to the child, and sen- 
tences of the same character. I doubt much if the pupil re- 
ceives any real aid from the connexion assumed between sounds 
and signs. The determinate sound of the letters in the German 
renders the spelling easy, when the true sound and the signs of 
the letters have been connected in the memory .f The previous 
practice of drawing has prepared the hand, so that there is a 
remarkable facility in acquiring the manual part of writing. 
The selection of intelligible sentences carries out the habit of 
understanding every thing as it is brought forward. Reading 
the written hand soon becomes familiar, and the transition to 



* I have called this fanciful, for so it appears to me, but speak in no spirit of 
disrespect. This method is connected, in Dr. Graser's school, with the instruction 
of the deaf and dumb with other children. The maxim prevailing in the prin- 
cipal schools of Germany for the instruction of the deaf and dumb is, that they 
must be restored to society by enabling them to understand speech and to speak. 
Hence the first attempt is to make them understand the motions of the organs 
of speech, and to imitate them, forcing air through them so as to produce the 
somids. The perseverance and zeal expended in attempting to carry out this 
idea are almost incredible. In some of the institutions for deaf mutes much of the 
instruction is actually communicated through the means of speech. 

t I have a specimen of writing from one of a class who had been five months 
under this instruction, remarkable for the correctness of spelling and execution. 
It was written from dictation. The pupil was seven years of age. 



300 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

the printed letters is easy. In all this instruction the black-board 
is used for illustrating the lessons. Elementary principles of 
grammar are inculcated in connexion with the writing and 
reading. 

In the next class, occupying also six months, the instruction 
is connected with "life in the community." This includes the 
political organization of the community, with the reasons for it; 
the geography of the place; the continuation of the exercises 
of thought and speech; the commencement of Bible history; 
an extension of instruction in morals, technology, and natural 
history; of the elements of form ; of grammar; of drawing and 
writing: so at least they would be called in the other schools. 
The plan of arrangement is as follows: 

Life in the community. History of the formation of communities, with their 
wants and obligations. Original existence of man. Union of several families. 
Fatal accidents in communities. Necessity of mutual aid in misfortune. Neces- 
sity of a magistracy. Arrangements for safety. Taxes. Laws and punish- 
ments. Wants of the community. Roads, bridges, &c. Watchmen. Servants. 
Council-house. School-house. 

2. In reference to man. The five senses. Their abuse exposes to punish- 
ment. Liformation in regard to the organs of sense. Their injury or deficiency. 
Their preservation and exercise. The mind. Perception not required for 
thought, or for distinguishing the true from the false, the good from the evil. 
The soul. Man has reason and will. Stories of good actions. The good is not 
always rewarded in this world, but there is a God. 

3. Relation of man to God. Attributes of the Deity. God is the creator, the 
supporter, the governor of the world, the father of all men, the high and righteous 
judge, a spirit. Duties to God, Honour, love as of a child, trust, thankfulness, 
reverence. Constant remembrance of God. Conscience. Stories related. The 
evil conscience. Conscience makes a man anxious and uneasy when he does 
wrong. The moral to be inculcated is, that man has within him a monitor which 
warns him against doing evil. Story of a pleasant evening. There is also ap- 
proval within one's self of good deeds. Necessity of a revelation to man. Sto- 
ries from the Scriptures related. The creation. Cain and Abel. The deluge. 
Those saved. The prophets. Expectation and coming of the Messiah. The 
three wise men. The child Jesus. John. Jesus the teacher, saviour, and 
founder of the kingdom of godliness. 

4. Relation of man to nature. The native place and its environs. The vil- 
lage as the dwelling of the community. The cardinal points. Position of the 
buildings. Streets, Roads. Springs. Stories of the village. Review of the 
position of the village. Natural history. Beauties of nature. First walk in 
the garden. Fruit trees, shrubs, herbs, flowers. The fields, hills, valleys, woods, 



A PRIMARY SCHOOL OF BAYREUTH. 301 

and forests. Morning ramble in the woods. Morning song. Insects. Stories 
of cruelty to insects. Natural philosopliy. Heat. The sun. Sunrise. Song. 
Division of time. Tlie calendar. Vapour. Storms. Thunder and lightning. 
Rules for protection. 

5. Relation of man to society. Age and youth. Infirm persons. The 
able bodied and the sick. Duties towards and protection of tlie sick. Employ- 
ments. Labourers and tradesmen. Peacefulness. Willingness in service. Up- ^ 
tightness. Respectfulness. Disposition to work. Poverty and riches. Contentment. 

The same elements of instruction are, in the next class, 
grouped about the next political division, the circle, the course 
occupying, as before, six months. Beginning here, the division 
restricts some portions of instruction unnecessarily. In gene- 
ral, however, I was satisfied with the progress of this class. I 
had no opportunity of judging of the results of the following 
division, namely, "life in the province," no class being in that 
stage of progress. 

In the next following, or " hfe in the kingdom," the political 
circumstances became too abstruse for the intellectual develop- 
ment of the children, and the attempts at induction in regard to 
the government failed almost entirely. All the circumstances, 
except those relating to the army, were out of the pale of their 
ordinary experience, and the complex mechanism of govern- 
ment was beyond the power of their reason to grasp. The 
German language is taught grammatically in this class, and, 
besides the geography and natural history of Bavaria, its his- 
tory, the biography of its most distinguished men, arithmetic, 
mental and written, geometry, drawing, singing, and morals 
from the Bible. At this stage of progress, it is quite apparent 
that the branches require a different mode of instruction, that 
they must be separated, and the progress of each regulated ac- 
cording to the adaptation of the mind of the pupil to its recep- 
tion, and not according to any extraneous theoretical circum- 
stances. 

The two highest classes being joined under a teacher who 
pursued altogether the old method of instruction, I had no op- 
portunity to put to the test the judgment formed in the lower 
class, which I have just expressed. Social or political circum- 



303 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD, 

etances do not afford, I am satisfied, a just method of arranging 
the details of instruction, though a knowledge of them should 
doubtless form a part of education. The reasons why the ar- 
rangement of Graser produces satisfactory results in the lower 
classes are, first, that elementary instruction does not require a 
systematic division of its subjects, in order to apply them to cul- 
tivating the intellect or morals, or for communicating know- 
ledge: and second, that the subjects are within the pale of 
the child's experience, and refer to his every-day wants and 
perceptions. Just the reverse, however, is the case in the 
higher divisions, and hence a different method becomes abso- 
lutely necessary.* Still the leading idea of the system, that 
to develope the intellectual, moral, and physical faculties of man 
is not sufficient, but that he must be educated in reference to 
the life in which he is to take a part, strikes with the force of 
truth, independently of the details which may be devised to 
carry it into effect. 

The institutions which Dr. Graser considers necessary to 
give the entire public instruction of a nation are : 

Popular Schools. Schools for Higher Instruction. 
1. The elementary school. 1. The elementary school. 

■2. The real school, (" Real Gymna- 2. The gymnasium. 

sium.") 
3. The real institute, (" Real Uni- 3. The university. 

versity.") 

The character of the instruction appropriate to these estab- 
fishments may, according to his views, be thus expressed. In 
the elementary school, it should be popular and inductive; in 
the real school, practical and scientific; and in the university, 
scientific and practical, or applying science to practice. 

* This view is also taken by Dr. KrOger, whose experience and skill as a 
teacher I have already so often referred to. See his Journey through Germany. 
(Reise durch Deutschland, &c., pp. 132, 133.) 



SCHOOLS OF AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRY. SOS 



CHAPTER VIII. 

SCHOOLS OF AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRY. 

Besides the schools for general instruction, which have been 
noticed in the foregoing chapters, others have been devised, 
intended to give special education for a future calling while 
pursuing the branches of common school instruction. The 
devotion of a part of the time to manual labour, as in the 
schools of Dresden and Leipsic, &c., already spoken of, is inci- 
dental, and not a chief feature in the plan, and the occupations 
learned in the boys' schools are not such as are likely to be 
followed in after life. In the schools now under consideration, on 
the contrary, the manual labour, or practical exercises, are lead- 
ing features in the system, and are intended to train the pupil 
for his future vocation. These establishments require very pecu- 
liar circumstances to render them useful; the future occupation 
of the pupil must be distinctly pointed out at an early age, 
or it must be desirable to give him a particular bias by educa- 
tion. Thus, in the rural cantons of Switzerland, there can be 
no doubt that boys without fortune are to be agricultural 
labourers, of a grade depending upon their success in life, and 
it is highly important to the country that as many as possible 
should be trained in the theory and practice of their calling. 
Hence the establishment of " rural schools" in these cantons, 
and the encouragement held out to their multiplication by pa- 
triotic citizens. Again, it is important in a community like that of 
Lyons, where the manufacture of silk employs so large a num- 
ber of the population, that the workman should be acquainted 
with the theory of his art, and should, if he have talent, also 
have the acquirement necessary to improve it. Hence the 
appropriation of the Lamartiniere funds to give a suitable 
training to those whom it is supposed may become workmen 
in the extensive manufactories of the city. The creation of 



304 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

such schools, where the conditions necessary to render them 
successful cannot be fulfilled, must be followed by failure. They 
belong essentially to particular localities and social circum- 
stances, and their extension, without reference to a due conside- 
ration of these, has tended, in some cases, to destroy the favour- 
able opinion formed from the operation of similar establishments 
in their legitimate sphere. The present condition of the rural 
schools of Switzerland, as exemplified by those which I visited, 
a comparison of the organization now existing with that at the 
outset, an inquiry into how far the results expected from them 
have been realised, and among these results, how far the schools 
may be considered as self-supporting, afford general matter of 
interest, and will appear in the descriptions of the schools at 
Hofvvyl and Carra. An example of a school adapted to the 
rural population of England will follow the notice of the Swiss 
schools, aflbrding an instance of the adoption of a principle, 
and its ingenious modification, to suit the new circumstances 
under which it is applied. 

On account of the late age at which the pupils enter, and the 
grade of agricultural life for which they are prepared, I have 
hesitated as to a notice of the agricultural school at Temple- 
moyle, near Londonderry, in this chapter; but considering tliat 
the intellectual instruction is quite elementary, I have concluded 
to insert it. It will be remarked, in relation to all the agricultural 
schools, that the age to which pupils are retained passes far the 
limits of the primary period of education. 

An admirable plan for adapting the ordinary day school of 
the National Board of Education for Ireland to the wants of 
an agricultural community, has been put in practice by 
Captain Kennedy, at the estate of Lough Ash, in the county 
of Londonderry. The children are taught the theory and 
practice of gardening, of farming in a small way, and of the 
care of cattle, &c., by the master, working a certain number of 
hours every day, when the season permits, in the small garden 
and farm attached to the school. When these arrangements 
have been matured, and have been in steady operation for a 
considerable time, the results will, I have no doubt, prove of 



SCHOOLS OF AGRICULTURE AND IIVDUSTRY. 305 

great value to the portion of the country where they will be 
displayed, extending beyond this one estate by the imitation of 
the system in others. 

Besides, the general interest which may attach to these 
schools, the variety of arrangement, and the methods of in- 
struction in special branches, cannot fail to be of service for 
the more direct objects of my Report. The Lamartiniere 
school is entitled, I believe, to the credit of carrying into full 
execution the method of teaching the elements of chemistry 
and mechanics, by combining manipulation with the study of 
the theory. 

RURAL SCHOOLS OF SWITZERLAND. 

These are, in general, schools in which manual labour occu- 
pies the chief part of the pupil's time, moral and intellectual 
training being mingled with it, and occupying the intervals of 
rest. The master of the school is the farm.er, and the pupils are 
his family. Labour and instruction are carried on together, and 
the discipline is paternal. The arrangement implies that the pu- 
pils reside in the schools, which are in fact charitable establish- 
ments, since the pupils do not remain long enough, after their 
labour becomes profitable, to repay the expenses of their edu- 
cation and maintenance. The present organization of these 
schools is due to Mr. de Fellenberg, who first established a model 
school of the kind at Hofwyl, in 1806, and no less than twelve 
for boys and girls have been since established in the different 
cantons. At the meeting of the society for public utility at 
Geneva, in August of 1837, a report was made, highly com- 
mendatory of these establishments, and proposing, as a means of 
promoting their extension, a central seminary for the education 
of teachers for them ; the importance of this suggestion will 
appear when it is seen how entirely the character of these estab- 
lishments depends upon the qualities of the teachers, and how 
difficult it is to find suitable ones. The two for boys which I 
visited were Carra, near Geneva, and Hofwyl, near Berne. 
39 



306 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL AT HOFWYL. 
The establishments for education at Hofwyl have attracted 
more attention probably than any other educational institutions 
in the world, and have become well known from the various 
reports made in relation to them.* At the time of my visit, 
in 1837, they consisted of a school chiefly for poor children, 
and called the Agricultural or Rural School, of a middle or 
real school for the education of youth not intended for the 
learned professions, of a boarding-school for the preparatory 
education for professional life, and of an agricultural institute, 
to the lectures of which pupils in the other departments only 
were admitted. All these establishments, requiring such different 
mental resources for their organization and management, were 
under the superintendence of Mr. de Fellenberg, their founder, 
and by whom the whole institution has been reared, without 
public aid.f At the time of my visit to Hofwyl, the middle 
school had assumed an important position, and was the most 
flourishing, probably, of the different establishments. As, how- 
ever, the regulations did not permit as close an examination of 
this and of the boarding institute, within the time which I was 
able to devote to them, as of some other similar schools which 
I visited, I propose to confine the present notice to the agricul- 
tural school.J Not to lose, however, the advantage of the prin- 
ciples developed in these establishments, I shall place in the 

* The most particular account, and that in wliich tlie spirit of the institutions is 
considered by their founder to have been best exhibited, is given by our country- 
man, Mr. W. C. Woodbridge, in the Annals of Education, published at Boston. 
Mr. Woodbridge resided at Hofwyl, and made himself thoroughly master of the 
minutiaj of the establishments. 

t Mr. de Fellenberg is one of those rare instances in which, from motives of 
patriotism and benevolence, men occupying high stations by wealth and social 
position, devote their means, their time, and talents, to the promotion of educa- 
tion. I am not aware of any case in v/hich equal sacrifices have been made as 
in that of Mr. de Fellenberg. 

t In regard to tliis, Mr. de Fellenberg was good enough to put me in commu- 
nication with an intelligent pupil (John Cavin), who had been ten months in the 
school, and who was then in the middle school, preparing as an instructor, under 
tlie patronage of an Irish nobleman. Lord WaJIscourt. 



RURAL SgHOOLS OF SWITZERLAND. 307 

Appendix, No. XL, some deductions of Mr. de Fellenberg from 
the experience of Hofvvyl. 

The pupils of the agricultural school are admitted at an early- 
age, there being, however, no fixed limits, and are expected to 
remain until twenty-one, if supported gratuitously. By so doing, 
they would be enabled, by their manual labour, to repay the 
expense of their maintenance and education, so as to leave the 
institution without pecuniary obligation. They would, besides, 
be detained beyond what may be considered the most critical 
age. In practice, however, it is found difficult to induce this 
lengthened stay, the actual expediency of which must depend so 
much upon individual circumstances. In addition to the gra- 
tuitous pupils, others are taken, who pay, in part or entirely, for 
their education. Twenty is the usual number of gratuitous 
pupils, and at the time of my visit there were ten pay pupils 
besides; this number is essentially restricted by the plan of the 
school. 

Formerly, the pupils were under the charge of a single 
teacher, for manual labour, instruction, and discipUne. The 
teacher lived with them, and was expected to be their constant 
companion, adviser, and friend, as well as instructor. The 
first teacher of the agricultural school, Wehrh, was specially 
trained for the purpose by Mr. de Fellenberg, and executed the 
plan of the school in a way to produce commendation from all 
quarters.* It is easily seen that such a place would be most 
difficult to supply, and yet, that to preserve the original princi- 
ple of organization requires absolutely that it should be sup- 
plied. 

At present the arrangement is essentially different. The pupils 
work and live with the teacher, but receive instruction in the 
middle school. In summer, the time occupied in labour is from 
eight to twelve hours per day, and in instruction from two to 
four hours. In winter, the amount of labour is less, and of study 
more. At particular seasons in the summer, as during the time 



* Mr. Wehvli is now at the lioad of the normal school at Kreuzling-en, in his 
native canton of Thurgovia. 



308 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

of harvest and ha.y-making, the instruction is omitted altogether. 
In the winter, gymnastic exercises, in a degree, replace agri- 
cultural labour. Thus the character of the instruction is entirely 
changed from what the former records of the school represent 
it to have been. It was intermingled with work, and much of 
it incidental, the peculiar talent of Wehrli appearing to have 
displayed itself in improving every opportunity for communi- 
cating instruction of this sort. At present the intellectual and 
moral instruction, and the field-work, both assume a more 
formal character. The former plan appears to have been pe- 
culiarly well adapted to the Swiss character, and certainly 
produced happy results upon the youth educated under it, and, 
if I understood Mr. de Fellenberg aright, he is anxious to re- 
turn to it when a suitable teacher shall have been obtained. In 
addition to ordinary farming, and labour, and gardening, the 
pupils are employed in an extensive dairy and a shop for making 
agricultural machines. They have, besides, in the agricultural 
institute, means of acquiring the theory as well as the practice of 
farming. The farming operations in which they assist are car- 
ried on to great advantage upon the extensive domain of Hofwyl. 

They rise at five in summer, attend to the police of their 
dwelling-house, and unite in the prayers and lessons of the 
middle school; breakfast at half past six; are engaged in labour 
or instruction, with an intermission of an hour at noon for din- 
ner, until six o'clock; sup, and are engaged in their lessons until 
eight; have prayers and retire to bed at nine. Their meals 
are served from the same kitchen, and are of the same quality 
with those of the hands upon the farm. On Sunday they rise 
at six in summer, breakfast at seven, attend prayers, study, and 
join the classes of vocal music with the pupils of the middle 
school until eleven, meet the other classes at chapel, where they 
have a sermon from a Protestant and Catholic clergyman, alter- 
nately; dine at twelve; have study and recreation until five, 
when they sup; are free until seven; have prayers and retire at 
eight. 

The instruction received is in readinEt the German lan^uasre 
and exercises of induction, four hours per week; arithmetic, 



AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL OP HOFWYL. 309 

three hours; elementary geometry, or knowledge of forms, two 
hours; geography and the history of Switzerland, three hours; 
natural history and philosophy, two hours; religion and morals, 
two hours; writing, drawing, and vocal music, three hours. 

Three hours per week are devoted to military drill, in which 
the pupils of the several schools are united. An admirable ar- 
rangement is made for bathing, by enclosing a copious spring, 
so as to form a reservoir with an overflow, by which the water 
is constantly changed. The depth is regulated so as to be 
adapted to the use both of those who can and others who can- 
not swim. A bathing-house, steps to enter the water, and ap- 
paratus of various kinds, for instruction in swimming, complete 
the arrangements.* 

The discipline of this school is of a mild character; the 
elder pupils have much influence over the younger; and where 
the teacher is constantly with them, as in the former organiza- 
tion, his control is a substitute for regulations. In the begin- 
ning, the number of pupils admitted was so small that no one 
could escape the teacher's observation and kindly admonition; 
and when the numbers were increased, this spirit was propagated 
from the older pupils to the new comers. 

In connexion with this rural school should be mentioned the 
establishment known as the Colony of Meykirk, placed several 
miles from Hofwyl, upon an uncultivated spot. The objects of 
this establishment were to demonstrate the possibility of render- 
ing rural schools self-supporting, and that they might even be 
used as the means of improving the agricultural condition of the 
country. A spot of fifteen acres was selected, and a log house 
built upon it. The colony was opened with six pupils in 1827, 
and placed under the charge of a pupil of Wehrli's. The number 
was gradually increased. The instruction was made entirely 
incidental, agricultural labour being the first necessity for the 

• The mode of teaching to swim is by a belt, which passes round tlie body, 
and is attached to a rope passing through a ring at the end of a bar of wood 
from which it hangs, and wliich acts as an elastic support. Tlie length of the 
ropo can be increased or diminished at pleasure, so as to afford a greater or less 
support. The more usual instruction, however, is given by the elder pupils sup. 
porting the younger on their hands. 



310 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

colonists. Their mode of life was of the most fragal character, 
to an extent unpractised in our country; in the earlier periods 
they were supplied from Hofwyl, but were made to depend 
upon that source as little as possible. The school was discon- 
tinued a few years since, and all the accounts relating to it 
closed, when it appeared that during its brief existence the esti- 
mated improvements of the soil had been nearly adequate to de- 
fray the expenses of the school, over and above its receipts. 
This result, however, depended upon the peculiar location of the 
colony, since it is by no means common to such schools, even 
in Switzerland. 

RURAL SCHOOL AT CARRA, NEAR GENEVA. 

This rural school was founded in 1820, by Mr. Pictet, and 
is still carried on upon part of the estate of his nephew, the syn- 
dic Vernet-Pictet. There is a similar establishment for girls in 
the vicinity, and under the charge of charitable ladies. The 
school at Carra belongs to subscribers, and is managed by a 
committee, of which Mr. Vernet-Pictet is president. The farm 
attached to it is forty acres in extent, and is worked, as far as 
practicable, by the pupils themselves. Of course, in the heavier 
parts of farming they require assistance. The master of the 
school is the head farmer, as well as schoolmaster and father 
of the family. Agricultural labour is the business of the pupil, 
and instruction fills up the intervals. The pupils enter at about 
eight years of age, and remain until from eighteen to twenty. 
During the latter years of their stay, their work begins to be 
profitable to the establishment, and they are even sent to work 
in the neighbourhood, or, as is found more advisable, the school 
does the work of a neighbouring farm on shares. On the 
average, however, the manual labour produces but about one- 
third of the expense of the pupil. 

The style of living is so plain, that the whole cost of the pupil 
amounts to but little more than ten cents per day. The society 
supports twenty-five boys of different ages, who live with the 
master and his family. During the winter, basket-making and 
other handicraft labour is added to their employments, and the 



AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL OF TEMPLEMOYLE. 311 

older pupils go to market with the produce of the farm. They 
receive an elementary education, consisting of religious instruc- 
tion, reading, writing, accounts, mental arithmetic, geography, 
and Swiss history. The master was educated under the cele- 
brated Wehrli. It is plain that, as the master is at once the 
head of the family and instructor, the character of the moral, 
intellectual, and physical culture of the pupils depends entirely 
upon him ; when it is further considered that a great part of the 
instruction is incidental, so that no precise rule can be laid 
down, even as to the time when it is to be given, it is quite as 
obvious that the whole results of education depend upon his 
tact, temper, judgment, and other personal qualities, and upon 
his preparation for this difficult task. Since the foundation of 
the school, about sixty-seven pupils have been attached to it; 
of these, twenty-four have passed through with approbation, 
twenty-seven were in the school in 1837, and sixteen have been 
withdrawn. Of twenty pupils for whom places were found by 
the directors, after six years residence in the institution, twelve 
were apprenticed as farm-servants or gardeners, three as school- 
masters, two as house-servants, and three, who had not ade- 
quate strength for country work, to tradesmen. The commit- 
tee complain of the difficulty of keeping young men, even thus 
brought up, in the country, contrary to the general tendency 
towards the towns. 

AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL OF TEMPLEMOYLE, NEAR LONDON- 
DERRY. 

The Agricultural School of Templemoyle was established by 
the Northwest of Ireland Agricultural Society, in 1827.* It is 

* I am indebted for a most favourable introduction to this school to Sir R. 
Ferguson, of Derry, one of its most active managers, and had the good fortune 
to meet there Captain Kennedy, of Lough Ash, the manager of a large estate, in 
a vi^ild district, w^here he is pursuing plans for the elevation of the peasantry, 
which must produce the happiest results. The improvement of his tenants is in 
an increasing ratio with the time of their residence oir his estate. His school, 
saving-fund, and bazaar, where articles of use are sold at cost; his arrangements 
for leases, loans, agricultural instruction, and moral and religious culture, are all 
admirably conceived, and executed with a zeal beyond my praise. I do not 



312 GENERAL EDUCATIOX. PRIMARV PERIOD. 

situated in a healthful and picturesque part of the county of 
Londonderry, about six miles from the city. At the same 
time with this school, the subscribers established one for the 
education of mercantile and professional men, not far from 
Templemoyle, expecting that the latter would prove profitable 
in a pecuniary point of view, and thus yield assistance for the 
support of the former.* The idea was, however, not realized, 
and after a considerable expense in its establishment, the higher 
school was abandoned, and all the efforts of the subscribers 
concentrated upon the agricultural school. The plan of Mr. 
de Fellenberg's establishment was thus taken as a model, but, 
under the different circumstances of the case, proved a decided 
failure. 

The agricultural school is designed for the education of the 
sons of farmers, or of young men intended for farming occupa- 
tions, either on their own account, or in the employ of others. 
It aims at giving them a plain English education, and a know- 
ledge of the principles and practice of agriculture. 

Pupils are admitted at or after fifteen, and should remain in 
the school during a period dependent upon the age of admis- 
sion, but as they are pay scholars, they may be removed at 
any time by their parents. The sum paid for education and 
maintenancef is not adequate for their support, and yet is so 
high as to limit essentially the number of pupils which the in- 
stitution actually receives. In the spring of 1836 there were 
thirty-three in the school, but in the autumn, this number was 
increased to sixty-six, by the pupils sent by the commissioners 
of woods and forests and by societies. The buildings can, how- 
ever, furnish accommodation for upwards of one hundred. The 
school has educated, since its establishment, one hundred and 

know that I liavc been ever more impressed with a sense of philanthropic exer- 
tion, tlian by a visit to Lough Ash. 

* To establish the schools, one hundred and sixteen shares of one hundred 
and twenty-five dollars each were subscribed by diiferent companies and indi- 
viduals, and six thousand dollars were subsequently subscribed for the erection 
of the buildings at Templemoyle. Various other donations and annual subscrip- 
tions have been made. 

+ About fifty dollars per annum, ($48.66.) 



AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL OF TEMPLEMOYLE. 313 

seventy-eight youths, from different parts of Ireland and from 
Scotland. 

The direction is vested in a committee of the subscribers. 
The immediate control is divided between the agricultural 
master, or farmer, who regulates the agricultural labours, 
the school-master, who divides the time of the pupils with the 
farmer, and the matron, who has charge of the domestic eco- 
nomy of the establishment, under the direction of the farmer and 
instructor. A working-gardener has lately been added, and a 
piece of ground laid off to be cultivated by the pupils under his 
direction. 

At half past five the pupils rise, arrange their rooms, say 
their prayers, and, in two divisions, which alternate on different 
days, are engaged until eight in study, or in work ; half the pu- 
pils are with the farmer, and half under the school-master, 
except on extraordinary occasions, when the services of all are 
required for the farm, or the season releases them from theii 
agricultural duties. At eight they breakfast, and are free until 
nine; work and attend school, in alternate divisions, from nine 
until one. Dine at one, and have recreation until two. From 
two to six, are at work and in school alternately. From six to 
seven, sup and have recreation. From seven to nine, prepare 
the lessons for the next day, have prayers, and retire at nine. 
On Sundays they attend their respective places of worship, and 
occupy a part of the remainder of the day in religious reading. 

The intellectual instruction consists in spelling, reading, gram- 
mar, geography, arithmetic, writing, and book-keeping, with 
some elementary and practical geometry, and trigonometry. 
The farmer giv'es lectures also in the evening, upon the theory 
of agriculture. It is intended to introduce lectures on botany 
and agricultural chemistry. 

The practice includes all the operations of tarming, under the 
different approved systems, the rearing of cattle, the manage- 
ment of a dairy, and, in general, the incidental as well as the 
direct occupations of the farmer or agricultural labourer. The 
head farmer, or agricultural master, is expected to explain the 
principles of the work in which the pupils arc engaged, and to 
40 



314 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

take opportunities for incidental instruction. The operations 
which he is specially called upon, in the regulations of the com- 
mittee, to teach, are, ploughing and the setting of the plough, 
the use of farming instruments in general, the qualities of stock 
and modes of recognising them, the treatment and manage- 
ment of dairy and farming stock, the making and repairing of 
fences, the rotation of crops and those best adapted to different 
varieties of soils, the modes of draining, reclaiming, and im- 
proving lands, and the most recent inventions and improve- 
ments in agricultural implements. The farmer takes those who 
are sufficiently advanced in knowledge and age to be benefited 
thereby, to the fairs, to assist in the sale of the products of the 
farm and stock. 

The pupils are divided, for work, into sections, each of which 
has its monitor, or chief, and consists of eight or ten boys. 
The head monitor, or superintendent, has the control of them, 
in the absence of the master, and arranges with him the distri- 
bution of their time, takes an account of the stock, and of the pro- 
ducts of the labour, and advises with the master in regard to 
the farm, in such a way as to prepare himself for actual super- 
intendence. This place is occupied by the elder pupils in rota- 
tion. 

The farm consists of one hundred and thirty-three acres,* of 
which one hundred and twenty-five are arable land. It is worked 
so as to present examples of the most approved rotation of 
crops, the fields embraced in the same series of shifts lying ad- 
jacent to one another. The whole is drained by under-ground 
drains, according to the Scottish system, and is well enclosed 
with different fences as specimens, and trials of the various 
kinds. The house is substantially built, and contains a school- 
room, refectory, dormitories, sitting-room, and apartments for 
the masters, all arranged in the plainest manner, with the out- 
houses proper for a farm. The garden is laid out for vegeta- 

* A plot of the ground, as surveyed by the pupils, and drawn by one of the 
number, was presented to mc, showing the details of the arrangement, and the 
classification of its parts. The construction of this drawing was one of the prac- 
tical exercises of the class. 



MANUAL LABOUR SCHOOL AT EALING. 315 

tables, fruits, and flowers, and portions have been sown with 
the various grasses, to exemplify their growth and uses. 

The discipline of the school is believed to be good, and to be 
administered with little difficulty. It depends mainly upon the 
administration of a code of rules by the two masters and ma- 
tron, and is, therefore, essentially different in spirit from that 
of the Swiss rural schools. The scale of the institution is also, 
in all respects, larger, and the character of the education ap- 
proaches much nearer to that appropriate for a school for spe- 
cial instruction, as does also tlie age of the pupils at admission. 
These circumstances should, of course, modify materially the 
system, even if the character of the pupils was the same. 

The domestic economy is simple, and the fare substantial, but 
very plain. It is remarkable that, with the simplicity of the 
life, and the age of many of the pupils, some of them being 
quite men, this school has not yet managed to support itself, 
even including in the account the payment made by the pupils. 
It still requires the aid of subscriptions, which, however, are 
secured to it by a conviction of the general benefits resulting 
from it. The highest testimony to the usefulness of the pupils 
who have been educated here, is borne by those who have em- 
ployed them in their service. 

MANUAL LABOUR SCHOOL AT EALING. 

There have been, of late years, many independent efforts in 
different parts of England to establish schools upon principles 
better adapted to the wants of the labouring agricultural classes 
than the ordinary day schools. An attempt was made, in 1833, 
to form a society,* the object of which was the establishment of 
a model school for industrial schools for the peasantry, and the 
union with it of a school for the education of teachers for simi- 
lar estabUshments. The attempt was unsuccessful in reference 
to the society, but a benevolent lady undertook to carry out the 
plan, in regard to the model school, at her own expense. The 

* See an excellent memoir on Industrial Schools for the Peasantry, in the 
first publication of the Central Society of Education in London, by Mr. Duppa, 
secretary of the society. 



316 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

new school was established at Ealing, a village about five miles 
from London. It was intended to combine manual labour, 
chiefly gardening, with instruction in the usual elementary 
branches, but to introduce the later improvements in the modes 
of elementary teaching. The task of finding a master capa- 
ble of filling such a place was obviously no easy one, and the 
necessity for employing a teacher imbued with the routine spirit 
of the common village schools, has, no doubt, retarded the de- 
velopment of the plan. I saw enough during my visit to this 
school to be persuaded that, when in full operation, according to 
the original idea, its results must be of considerable importance, 
and that even in its present imperfect state, the school is highly 
beneficial to the rural district in which it is situated. It is an 
attempt to adapt the spirit of the Swiss rural schools to the cir- 
cumstances of the English peasantry. " Its leading principles 
are, that the children should early acquire habits of patient in- 
dustry ; that they should be acquainted with the value of labour, 
and know the connexion between it and property; that they 
should have intelligence, skill, and an acquaintance with the 
objects by which they are surrounded; that the higher senti- 
ments, the social and moral part of their being, should receive 
a full development."* 

Habits of industry are promoted by labouring in the garden 
attached to the school-house. This is divided, one portion 
being reserved for the use of the school, another being sub- 
divided into small gardens for the boys. The pupils work in 
the first under monitors, and receive a compensation in propor- 
tion to the useful results of their labour. The second they hire 
at fixed rates, and dispose of the produce as they please, al- 
ways receiving, however, the market price for it from the 
school, if they choose to dispose of it there. The younger 
children are not allowed to undertake gardens on their own 
account, but work for others or for the establishment. Part- 
nerships are sometimes formed among them for the more ad- 
vantageous cultivation of larger pieces of ground. At the pe- 

* See the article before referred to, and which is official 



MANUAL LABOUR SCHOOL AT EALING. 317 

riod of my visit, the gardens were planted with vegetables and 
flowers, and many of them tastefully arranged. All exhibited 
an appearance of neatness, and during the hours of work 
the renters appeared busily occupied. The best order reigned 
among all the children. An occasional simple song was sung 
in the group who were working for the school, under the di- 
rection of a monitor. The master directs the whole, and to 
his suggestions they are indebted for many improvements; it is 
their privilege to resort to his counsel in cases of difficulty. The 
school furnishes the working-tools, which for the youngest 
children are merely a hoe and rake. They have also in-door 
work for bad weather, consisting of carpentry, the making of 
wooden shoes, &c. I was told that the room for containing their 
gardening-tools, where there is also a trough for washing, had 
been fitted up by the pupils, and they have shown considerable 
ingenuity in the repairs of the out-houses attached to the school, 
and have even entirely constructed one of them. In the 
beginning a gardener was employed to teach the boys, but this 
is now done by the master and monitors. An account current 
with each pupil is kept, in which he is charged with the rent of 
his ground, and the seeds and plants which he has purchased 
from the stock, and credited with the produce which he has 
sold to the school. Some of the pupils have a considerable 
surplus on the credit side at the end of the year; one lad is 
stated to have gained nearly ten dollars from a sixteenth of an 
acre;* another, of thirteen, to have gained nearly five dollars 
and a-half, from the gardening between March and November; 
another, of fourteen, five dollars; and a third, of eleven, the same 
sum. It is the duty of the master so to arrange that the pu- 
pils may not lose, unless by providential circumstances; not 
to intrust, for example, a youth with the charge of a garden 
before his capability to manage it is sufficiently proved; and 
not to allow extravagances or glaringly injudicious measures 
on the part of the little gardeners. The tendency of these 

* They pay six cents per month to the school as rent for tliis quantity of 
ffround. 



318 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

measures is, incidentally to train to habits of respect for pro- 
perty, of honesty, fair dealing, and mutual assistance, quite as 
valuable as those of industry. The time employed in manual 
labour by the elder pupils is three hours, and to this is added 
three hours and a-half of intellectual instruction. The younger 
boys are four hours and a-half in school. It would be unfair to 
compare a school, where the pupils have been so recently 
brought under instruction, with others of longer standing; hence 
I would only remark, that the theory of the intellectual instruc- 
tion was much better than its practice, and express the opinion 
that the same enlightened superintendence which has accom- 
plished so much, will probably work out satisfactorily all the 
details of the plan. The mechanical parts of a new project 
are always more easily realized than the intellectual. When 
the young men now training up as teachers in this school 
shall, in their turn, come to improve the practice which they 
witness, there can be little doubt of the success of the intellectual 
department. The greatest novelty is that which has already 
proved successful. 

LA MARTINIERE SCHOOL OF LYONS. 

This school was founded in pursuance of the will of a citizen 
of Lyons, M. Martin, who left the French army while in Syria, 
went to India, and entered the service of one of the native 
princes. He acquired a very large fortune, and at his death 
left a considerable portion of it to found three charitable insti- 
tutions, two in India and one at Lyons. The war with Eng- 
land prevented, for a time, the acquisition, by the city of Lyons, 
of their portion of this legacy, which, when it came into the 
treasury, amounted to more than four hundred thousand dol- 
lars. With this the municipal council determined to found a 
school for the working classes, and that its benefits might be 
extended as widely as possible, made a day school of it. The 
chief object of the institution is to train up an educated class 
of workmen for the manufactories. The arrangement of the 
courses has been governed by two principles, the first, to fulfil 
the object just stated: the second, to avoid the danger of de- 



LA MARTINIERE SCHOOL OF LYOXS. 3l9 

feating it by over education. Pupils enter at the age of ten, 
and the elementary attainments in language which they may 
have made before admission, are rather kept up than extended. 
Thorough scientific courses, form the basis of further educa- 
tion, giving them entirely a practical turn, and studiously avoid- 
ing the speculative. The experience of the school, which has 
been in full activity only five years, is not yet sufficient to show 
how far the plan will attain the ends proposed ; but it affords at 
present some of the best illustrations of exact teaching of science 
which I have ever seen. In regard to these I shall enter into 
some particulars, prefacing them by a general notice of the 
establishment. 

The school is governed by trustees, chosen by the munici- 
pality of the city of Lyons, and constituting a board, which 
regulates all the concerns of the institution, and appoints. its 
officers. The trustees choose committees from among the 
citizens to attend the examinations and to distribute the prizes 
for excellence in the different departments. The selection is 
made from those who are supposed best acquainted with the 
branch under examination. 

Pupils are admitted between ten and fourteen years of age, 
and remain two, or in special cases, three years. They arc 
expected to be familiar with the studies of the primary schools 
before entering. 

The course of instruction is divided into two parts, the first 
general, the second special. The general course consists of 
mathematics, drawing, writing, and French, the last two named 
being intended merely to keep up the attainments made in the 
primary schools. The special courses are of chemistry and 
weaving. These latter are not obligatory; the choice as to 
whether the pupil will pursue one or other of them, or not, be- 
ing left with his parents. The object of restricting the courses 
of writing and French, is to prevent the tendency to leave the 
more laborious occupations, towards which the institution would 
direct its pupils, for situations as clerks, &c. 

The course of mathematics extends through the two years, 



320 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

and embraces arithmetic, algebra to quadratic equations, prac- 
tical geometry, descriptive geometry, and mechanical prob- 
lems. There are two classes, each under a professor, who 
is assisted by a "repeater" (repetiteur), to go over the lessons, 
and to exercise the pupils in examples. I have not seen the 
simultaneous method of instruction so well practised elsewhere 
as in the course of mathematics of the higher class. Each 
pupil had a small black-board, on wdiich he wrote with pre- 
pared chalk, and at a word from the professor the question was 
written down, and its results shown, after solution. The rapidity 
and accuracy of the solutions,* and the large proportion of the 
class who were able to solve the questions, showed that they 
had been thoroughly taught, and the best possible order resulted 
from the manner of executing the class movements together, at 
the word of command. To construct in space the problems of 
descriptive geometry, relating to the right line and plane, each 
pupil had a small tablet of wax, and rods of wire of different 
lengths. All the introductory definitions, as well as the pro- 
blems, were required to be illustrated by these contrivances, 
and the problems themselves to be constructed in space before 
recourse w'as had to projections. As an introduction to this 
exercise, the propositions in the fifth book of Legendre's 
geometry are constructed in a similar manner. The pupils 
are engaged in their mathematical studies two hours a-day 
with a professor, and two hours with a " repeater," or under 
monitors from the class. 

The course of drawing also occupies two years. The pupils 
draw altogether from models, beginning, as in the Prussian 



* Among the questions were these : — Tlie cube root of 3.333 to three places 
of decimals, was found in tlirce and a-half minutes. The radius of a sphere of 
532 cubic centimetres in capacity, was found in three-quarters of a minute. The 
capacity of a sphere was given at 513 cubic centimetres, and its specific gravity 
at 19, the weight was found in three and a-half minutes. In the equations 2x — 4y 
=20, and 3x-\-5y:^50, the values of a: and y were found in three minutes. The 
condenser of a steam engine being supposed to contain 3.25 kilogrammes of 
steam, required the quantity of water at 4° C, to reduce the steam to 25"^ C, this 
question was solved in two minutes. 



LA MARTINIERB SCHOOL OP LYONS. 321 

method, with the most simple forms, going into the delineation 
of complex machinery, and making projections as well as per- 
spective drawings. They begin upon slates, but soon learn to 
draw upon paper. In general, instruments are not used, even 
when they come to machine drawing. When I visited the 
school, a part of the upper class was engaged in completing 
the perspective of a model of a steam engine, for an approach- 
ing competition for places. The results of this course also ap- 
peared to me very satisfactory. These lessons occupy two 
hours every day. 

Chemistry is taught practically in the laboratory, and at 
an hour (from seven to a quarter past eight, A. M.) which 
does not interfere with the other courses. The class is divided 
into two sections, each of which has its set of apparatus, and 
goes through the preparation and execution of the principal 
experiments and illustrations of a course of chemistry as ap- 
plied to the arts. They are particularly exercised in the che- 
mistry of dyeing and bleaching. The facility in the detection 
of mineral salts, which the pupils in general displayed, showed 
the efficiency of this method. Habits of observation and ex- 
actness, as well as skill in manipulation, are gained by the 
instruction. 

Weaving is taught theoretically as well as practically, with 
special reference to the silk manufacture. Whoever has be- 
come acquainted with the use of the Jacquard loom, will see 
that there is abundance of room for calculation in regard to its 
combinations. There are several looms, to afford opportunity 
for practical exercise. This branch, also, is taught at an hour 
(half past five to seven, P. M.) which does not interfere with 
the other instruction. 

There is also a course of exercise in the manipulations of 
physics, the institution possessing, besides an extensive collection 
of apparatus and of models of machines, a number of small sets 
of the commoner apparatus for the use of the pupils. Writing 
and French occupy one hour every day. 

The manner in which all these courses are taught, makes 
41 



322 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

them more really valuable, as a means of general mental culti- 
vation, than might at first be supposed, from the limited range 
of the subjects. The resources of intellect, knowledge, and 
general manual dexterity, furnished by them, must be of incal- 
culable value in the particular callings for which the pupils are 
educated. 



SEMINARIES FOR PRIMARY TEACHERS. 323 



CHAPTER IX, 



SEMINARIES FOR THE EDUCATION OF TEACHERS FOR THE 
PRIMARY SCHOOLS. 

The influence of these establishments upon the primary- 
schools is so great that, though the pupils are, even on entering 
them, past the primary period in age, this seems to be an ap- 
propriate place for the introduction of descriptions or notices of 
them. Originating in Germany, they have been gradually im- 
proved there, and brought into their present condition, and have 
spread into Holland, France, Switzerland, and, more recently, 
into England, being modified only so far as to adapt them to 
the circumstances of society and education in these several 
countries. 

The most imperfect arrangement for providing teachers is that 
which requires an examination into merely the knov^^ledge of 
the candidates in the branches required to be taught. This is 
specially imperfect in the case of elementary instruction, where 
the knowledge required is small in amount, and where the art 
of teaching finds its most difficult exercise. The erroneous no- 
tion, that an individual can teach whatever he knows, is now 
generally abandoned, and in those countries which still adhere 
to the old method, of depending solely upon examinations for 
securing competent teachers, examination is made not only 
of the acquirements of a candidate, but of his ability to give 
instruction. I have called this the most imperfect method, 
because the mere employment of a teacher, without examination 
or personal knowledge of his powers, which still occurs in 
countries where education is neglected, does not deserve to be 
mentioned in a discussion of the more enlightened national 
systems. 

The most obvious method of acquiring practice in the art of 



324 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

teaching is by serving in the lower departments of a school, 
under the eye and direction of an experienced teacher. Ac- 
companied by private study, founded on previous knowledge, 
and by private lessons, this method may form excellent teachers 
of those who have particular aptitude for the profession. Con- 
sidered in the general, however, it must be admitted to have a 
tendency to produce a routine system in teaching. The pupil- 
teacher imitates the methods of those with whoni he is asso- 
ciated, and which are placed before him as models, without 
examining their principles, or discriminating between their me- 
rits and defects. He places great stress upon peculiar modes of 
instruction in particular branches, and when they do not suc- 
ceed, attributes the fault neither to the methods nor to himself, 
but to the pupil. The habits of observation and reflection, 
which enable him to profit by experience, are not developed by 
this method, and thus, though he may consider experience as a 
merit, it may produce none of its appropriate results in his case. 
Accordingly, wherever this mode of preparing teachers has been 
adopted as a system, as in Holland, or has been incidental to the 
method of examinations, as in Saxony, it has not stood the test 
of application in the schools where the modern improvements 
in teaching have been introduced, much less of a comparison 
with the method of instruction in special seminaries. 

The most efficacious means of securing qualified teachers 
are to be found in the seminaries where a number of young 
men intending to become teachers are collected, receive a 
common instruction in the subjects required for the grade of 
schools in which they propose to teach, or revise and extend 
this knowledge previously acquired, have lessons in the science 
and art of teaching, and practice the art under intelligent super- 
vision. At first, these seminaries produced good scholars, who 
were, however, deficient as teachers. Then, to remedy this de- 
fect, lectures and lessons «n the science and art of teaching 
were multiplied, forming good theoretical teachers, but who 
were still wanting in practice, which had to be acquired after 
entering their profession, and, therefore, at the expense of the 
first pupils placed under their charge. This difficulty is entirely 



SEMirfARIES FOR PRIMARr TEACHERS. 325 

obviated by schools attached to the seminaries, in which the 
theoretical lessons may be put in practice, and where the future 
teachers may observe the methods of others, try their own 
skill in the art under inspection, and, finally, take part in the 
regular instruction. 

The profession of the teacher is raised into respectability by 
the considerable acquirements exacted of him, and his salary 
is placed upon a footing appropriate to the outlay of time and 
means which has been made in reaching the profession. It is 
a mistake to suppose that the low salaries given in some 
countries, as in Prussia, for example, indicate that a low estimate 
is placed upon the station of the teacher; the very reverse is 
the fact in the particular country mentioned, and the salary 
will be found adapted to the scale of expenditure of the country, 
and to the general style and cost of living. 

When education is to be rapidly advanced, seminaries for 
teachers afford the means of securing this result. An eminent 
teacher is selected as director of the seminary, and by the aid 
of competent assistants, and while benefiting the community 
by the instruction given in the schools attached to the semi- 
nary, trains, yearly, from thirty to forty youths in the enlightened 
practice of his methods; these in their turn become teachers 
of schools, which they are fit at once to conduct without the 
failures and mistakes usual with novices; for, though beginners 
in name, they have acquired, in the course of the two or three 
years spent at the seminary, an experience equivalent to many 
years of unguided effort. This result has been fully realized 
in the success of the attempts to spread the methods of Pesta- 
lozzi and others through Prussia. The plan has been adopted, 
and is yielding its appropriate fruits in Holland, Switzerland, 
France, and Saxony, while in Austria, where the method of 
preparing teachers by their attendance on the primary schools 
is still adhered to, the schools are stationary, and behind those 
of Northern and Middle Germany. 

These seminaries produce a strong esprit de corps among 
teachers, which tends powerfully to interest them in their pro- 
fession, to attach them to it, to elevate it in their eyes, and to 



326 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMAKY PERIOD. 

stimulate them to improve constantly upon the attainments 
with which they may have commenced its exercise. By their 
aid a standard of examination in the theory and practice of 
instruction is furnished, which may be fairly exacted of can- 
didates who have chosen a different way to obtain access to 
the profession. 

Objections have been urged against seminaries for teachers, 
which apply rather to a defective organization than to the system 
itself First, that the youths issuing from them being over-taught, 
are, in consequence, dissatisfied with their duties, and leave 
the profession to push themselves forward in a different career 
of life; and, second, that theoretical, not practical teachers, are 
formed by them. The first objection points out the necessity for 
restricting the instruction to that which is essential to a complete 
fulfilment of the duties of the teachers educated in these schools. 
The seminary should not go further, and hence the connexion 
of such establishments with secondary or other higher schools 
is inadmissible. If the tendency of a seminary course is to 
render the teacher dissatisfied with his occupation, experience 
shows that it is a fault in the particular course, the defect not 
being general to this class of institutions. That a pupil of 
talent may seek other and more congenial roads to station in 
life, is no reproach to the seminary where he was educated. 
The institution secures the services of this pupil to primary in- 
struction by his pledge at entrance, for a number of years, in 
return for the education which he has received, and has so 
far benefited the community. If by any means it prevents 
the individual from rising to the position where his talents 
would place him, an act of positive injustice is committed. 
Not only the instruction, however, but the whole plan of living 
in the seminary should be adapted to the future destination of the 
pupil, and indulgences should not be allowed which would pro- 
duce wants not subsequently to be gratified; such is, in fact, the 
very system of all properly regulated institutions of this class. 
That mere theoretical teachers are formed in well conducted 
seminaries, is by no means the fact. Every care, on the con- 
trary, is taken to avoid this : it is true, that general principles 



SEMINARIES FOR PRIMARY TEACHERS IN PRUSSIA. 327 

are inculcated, in order that routine in teaching may be avoided, 
but these principles are constantly applied, and under circum- 
stances where error is sure to be pointed out by the observation 
of class-mates and teachers, and where it can hardly escape 
correction. 

The question, whether the pupils of these schools should 
reside, in common, in the buildings, or board apart from each 
other, and merely come together to receive instruction, appears 
to me not to admit of a general solution applicable to every 
case. The manners and habits of a country, and even the 
locality of the school, will render one or other method prefer- 
able in a particular case. Thus, I have no doubt that the ar- 
rangements of the seminaries at Weissenfels and at Berlin, in 
Prussia, at Haarlem in Holland, at Versailles in France, and at 
Zurich in Switzerland, though they differ from each other, are 
all adapted to the countries and particular localities where the 
institutions are established. It will be my object to make such 
a selection from among the best schools of this class which I 
visited, as will show some of their principal varieties. The 
general statistics in regard to them have been given in the 
introductory remarks upon the systems of primary instruction in 
the different countries, and need not, therefore, be presented here. 

PRIMARY NORMAL SCHOOLS OF PRUSSIA. 

Of the very interesting schools for the education of primary 
teachers in Prussia, I visited several, namely, those at Moers, in 
the Rhenish provinces, of Weissenfels and Erfurt in the pro- 
vince of Saxony, and of Potsdam and Berlin in the province of 
Brandenburgh. These are all of the class called "principal 
normal schools." The " small normal schools" are exclusively 
for the education of country teachers, and present, on a diminish- 
ed scale, and with incomplete means, the same general prin- 
ciples with the others. 

There is no general code of regulations for the normal 
schools, the practice being to select some teacher of known 
merit and tried skill for the head master or director of the in- 
stitution, and to leave the organization to him, under the con= 



328 GENERAL EDUCATIOX. PRIMARY PERIOD- 

trol of the provincial authorities. I have selected, as repre- 
senting this class, an institution in which the pupils live in 
common, and another in which they board out of the school. 
It would be more agreeable to me to give the particulars col- 
lected in each of those which I visited, but this would be im- 
possible within the limits of my Report. I can truly say of this 
class of institutions, that I never visited one without being inte- 
rested and instructed, and never made the acquaintance of the 
director of one of them without feeling that his place was wor- 
thily filled, and that it was wise to have such a man as much 
untrammelled by rules, regulations, and systems, as possible. 

While these institutions hold out advantages to young men 
intending to become teachers, other avenues to the profession 
are not closed by them ; on the contrary, all who can stand the 
required examinations may enter this career. Every year an 
examination is held at every "principal seminary" for those who 
intend to leave it, and of other candidates for admission to the 
teachers' profession. This examination takes place in presence 
of the teachers, of one or more commissaries named by the 
provincial school-board, and of a school-councillor of the re- 
gency in which the seminary is situated. The authorities of 
the province and regency also hold, about the same time, an 
examination for those who have studied at the universities, 
frequently candidates in theology, who intend to become teach- 
ers in the primary schools. The director of the seminary forms 
one of this board.* The law requires that those who have 
appeared feeble at this trial, shall be examined three years 
subsequent thereto. 

The examinations are of three kinds: in writing, viva voce, 
and by practical exercises of teaching. The written examina- 
tion of candidates from the seminary, and of others who have 
not passed through a gymnasium, consists in answering some 
ten or twenty questions in history, geography, natural philo- 

* Ministerial orders of June, 1826, and March, 1827, quoted by Dr. Ilarniseh 
in liis account of the seminary at Wcissenfels (Das Wcissenfclser Schullehrer 
seminar und seine hiilfsanstaltcn, 1838,) to which I am indebted for the account 
of the examinations. 



SEMINARIES FOR PRIMARY TEACHERS OF PRUSSIA. 329 

sophy, natural history, arithmetic, and from ths Bible. Besides 
which they set a bass to an air given for tiie purpose, and exe- 
cute a drawing. The character of the handwriting appears 
from the exercises. The viva voce examination embraces the 
German language, reading, mental arithmetic, geometry, the 
art of teaching, and the reading of music. The exercise in 
teaching consists in giving a catechetical lesjoii upon some 
subject assigned by the examiner. The student-candidates 
(Literaten, oder Studirten), and those examined for a second 
time, are questioned especially in regard to practical teaching. 
The candidates are divided, according to the results of the ex- 
amination, into three classes, entirely satisfactory, satisfactory, 
and unsatisfactory. The subjects of examina.tion are enume- 
rated as follows : 1. Christian doctrine and explanation of the 
Bible. 2. Knowledge of the Bible and Bible history. 3. Ger- 
man language. 4. Style. 5. Reading. 6. Writing. 7. Mental 
and written arithmetic. 8. Geometry. 9. Natural philosophy 
and natural history. 10. Hygiene and gardening. 11. His- 
tory of the earth and its inhabitants. 12. Drawing. 13. Vocal 
music. 14. Science of teaching. 15. Readiness in teaching. 
Besides which are, in addition, 1. Skill in playing on the 
organ. 2. Propriety in leading church music. Of the above 
named subjects, number 15 is considered the principal; the 
first seven constitute the more important, and the last seven the 
less important. When a candidate has been marked "entirely 
satisfactory" in all the branches, he receives a general mark 
of the same kind; when only in 15, and the first seven branches, 
the general mark satisfactory. A failure in one of the more 
important branches, would require a general remark of unsatis- 
factory.* The results of these examinations afford a direct 
means of comparison between the young teachers educated in 
the seminaries and others, and serve to stimulate both classes, 
and especially to point out defects where they exist in the 
schools for teachers. 



* Order of the Provincial School Board, November, 1834, quoted by Dr, Har- 
nisch in his account of tlic scuiinary at Weissenfelsi. 
42 



380 ©ENSEAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

SEMINARY FOR TEACHERS AT WEISSENFELS. 

This seminary, for the education of teachers for the elemen- 
tary schools, is one of four belonging to the province of Saxony,* 
raid was last organized in 1822. It combines within its pre- 
mises, or in the neighbourhood, so as to be subject to the con- 
trol of the same director, the following establishments: 1. The 
normal school, or seminary for teachers, a government insti- 
tution. 2. A preparatory school subsidiary to the former, 
and established by the enterprise of its teachers. 3. A serai- 
nary school, or burgher school, of four hundi'cd puy Is, already 
described. 4. An elementary school for poor children, of two 
hundred pupils. 5. A school for the deaf and dumb, of twenty- 
five pupils, established in 1S28, and supported by the govern- 
ment. The last three mentioned schools afford practice to 
the students of the seminary. 

The government of these establishments is confided to a 
director,! who is responsible immediately to the provincial 
school-board in Magdeburg. He has the personal charge of 
the seminary in which he gives instruction, and of which he 
superintends the domestic economy, discipline, and police. He 
is assisted, in the seminary, by three teachers, who meet him 
once a week in conference, to discuss the progress and conduct 
of the pupils, the plans of instruction, and other matters relating 
to the school. There are also seven assistant teachers, five for 
the seminary school, and two for the deaf and dumb institution, 
who also assist in the seminary itself. Once a month there is 
a general meeting of the teachers of all the schools just enume- 
rated, for similar purposes. 

Applicants for admission are required to produce certificates 
of baptism, of moral conduct, and of health,J besides an en- 
gagement on the part of their parents or guardians to pay an 

* At Magdeburg, Halberstadt, Erfurt, and Weissenfels. 

+ The Rev. Dr. Harnisch, to whom I am mdebted for a kind welcome to his 
institution, and a MS. account of its difTcrcnt schools. 

t The directions issued by the provincial authorities are, that they shall have 
a strong chest and sound lungs, not be too near-siglited, nor deaf, nor infirm. 
The physician's certificate must state whetlier they have had the measles, &c. 



SETfllNARY FOR TEACHERS AT WEISSENFELS. o3l 

annual sum of fifty thalers (thirty-seven dollars) for Fxiainte- 
nance. These papers must be forwarded to the director a fort- 
night before the day of examination. The candidates are exam- 
ined at a stated time of the year (after Easter), in presence of 
all the teachers of the school, and their attainments must prove 
satisfactory in Bible and church history, the Lutheran Cate- 
chism, reading, writing, German grammar, especially the or- 
thography of the language, the ground-rules of arithmetic 
(mental and written), geography and history, and natural his- 
tory and philosophy, of the grade of the highest class of a 
burgher school. They must also be able to play, at siglit, easy 
pieces of music upon the violin. The usual age of admission 
is eighteen, and the lowest at which they are admissible, seven- 
teen. On entrance they are entitled to free lodging and in- 
struction, and if their conduct and progress are satisfactory, in 
general, receive a yearly allowance of twenty-five dollars, 
which is equivalent, nearly, to the cost of their maintenance. 
Their clothing and school-books are provided by the pupils. 
The modes of preparation judged most appropriate by the 
authorities of the seminary are, the attendance on a burgher 
school, with private lessons from a competent teacher, or en- 
trance into the preparatory establishment at Weissenfels. A 
gymnasium is considered by no means a proper place for the 
preparation of pupils, its courses, discipline, and mode of life 
having a different tendency from that required by the future 
teacher of a common school. 

The admission of new pupils takes place with some cere- 
mony, in presence of the teachers and pupils. The director 
gives a charge, in which he makes them acquainted with 
the rules of the school, chiefly those relating to moral con- 
duct, to obedience to the authorities, punctuality, regular at- 
tendance at study, school, church, and, in general, on the ap- 
pointed exercises, due exertion, neatness in their habits, and 
exactness in the payment of dues to the tradesmen with whom 
they may deal. They bind themselves to serve for three years 
after leaving the school, in whatever situation may be assigned 
them by the regency of Merseburg, or to pay the cost of their 



332 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

education and maintenance. During their stay at the seminary, 
they are exempted from military service, except for six -weeks; 
in fact, this service usually takes place at leaving the school, 
and before entering upon their new career. The number of 
pupils, on the average, is sixty. 

The courses of instruction are, morals and religion, German, 
arithmetic and geometry, cosmology, pedagogy, terraculture, 
hygiene, theory and practice of music, drawing, and writing. 
Cosmology is a comprehensive term for geography, an outline 
of history and biography, the elements of natural history and 
natural philosophy, all that relates to the world (earth) and its 
inhabitants. Pedagogy includes both the science and art of 
teaching. The courses just enumerated are divided among the 
masters, according to the supposed abihty of each in the par- 
ticular branches, the whole instruction being given by the four 
teachers. The director, as is customary in these schools, takes 
the religious instruction, and the science and art of teaching, 
as his especial province, and adds lectures on the theory of 
farming and gardening (terraculture), and of health. 

The duration of the course of studies has been reduced 
from three years to two, on account, as is alleged, of the ne- 
cessity for a more abundant supply of teachers. There are, 
probably, other reasons, such as tlie expense, and the fear 
of over-educating the pupils for their station, which have been 
influential in brinrrinsj about this reduction. There are two 
classes corresponding to the two years of study. The first 
year is devoted entirely to receiving instruction, and in the se- 
cond, practice in teaching is combined with it. In the prepa- 
ratory school, there is likewise a course of two years, and the 
pupils are divided into two classes. This establishment is in 
a building near the seminary, which can accommodate forty 
pupils, and is under the special charge of one of the teachers.* 

The outline of the studies in the two schools is as follows : 



* The payments made by the pupils are, per annum, for instruction, nine del- 
lars; for dinner, bread not inchided, thirteen dollars and fifty cents; lodging, 
three dollars, waiting and nursing in time of sickness, one dollar and seventy -five 
cents; use of Horary, fifty cents. 



SEMIPfARY FOR TEACHERS AT WEISSENFELS. 333 

Religious Instruction, 

PRErARATOilY SCHOOL. 

II Class. Bible stories, which the pupils must be able to narrate with pro- 
priety. Christian doctrine. Portions of Scripture committed to memory. Four 
hours weekly. 

I Class. Reading the Bible, especially the historical parts. Krummacher's 
Bible Catechism. Christian doctrine. Parables of the New Testament. Seven 
hours. 

In the lectures on Christian doctrine, which the two classes 
of the normal school attend together, the director gives a por- 
tion of Scripture to be committed to memory, explains and 
illustrates it, and interrogates the pupils, who take notes of the 
lecture, which they subsequently write out. 

NORMAL SCHOOL. 

II Class. Reading the Bible, particularly the historical parts ; writing cate- 
chetical exercises, adapted to children. Two hours. 

I Class. Continuation of the second class course. Two hours. 

I and II Class. Christian doctrine, from Luther's Catechism. Three hours. 
History of the different dispensations. Two hours. A course of two years. 

The course of church history is taught, also, by the mixed 
method of lecture and interrogation, to both classes united, 

German Language. 

PREPARATORY SCHOOL 

II Class. Exercises of speech in reading and delivery. Descriptions and 
essays on subjects drawn from common life. Grammar. Writing as an exer- 
cise in calligraphy and orthography. Nine hours. 

I Class. Reading, with explanations. Composition. Grammar revised. 
Writing, as in the second class. Nine hours. 

NORMAL SCHOOL. 

II Class. Reading, with explanations. Writing, as an exercise of calligra- 
phy and orthography. Exercises of style. A composition once every month. 
Essays from history, geography, or natural history. Grammar revised. Eight 
hours. 

I Class. Poetry, with readings. Calligraphy. Exercises of style. Grammar 
revised. National literature. Seven hours. 

The first and second classes are united for a portion of instruction in this de- 
partment, intended to rid them of provincialisms of speech, and to improve 
Itheir handwriting. Three hours. 



334 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

Mathematics. 

PREPARATORY SCDOOL. 

II Class. Arithmetic, including the Rule of Three. Three hours. 

I Class. Arithmetic, revised and extended. Use of compass and ruler. Four 
hours. 

NORMAL SCHOOL. 

II Class, Geometry, commenced. Four hours. 

I Class. Revision of previous studies. Geometry, continued. Two hours. 

The method of teaching mathematics is that of Pestalozzi; 
and director Harnisch has himself prepared a work on geome- 
try for his pupils. The applications are made to follow the 
principles closely. As in the other courses, the greater part 
of the learning is done in the school-room, the books being 
used rather for reference than for preparation. In the lessons 
which I attended in this department, much skill was displayed 
by the instructors, and a very considerable degree of intelli- 
gence by the pupils. Considering it as the means of develop- 
ing the reasoning powers, this method is very far superior to 
that in which the propositions are learned from books. To 
exemplify the method of Dr. Harnisch, I may state the follow- 
ing case of a recitation in geometry by the second class. The 
equality of two triangles, when the two sides and the angle con- 
tained between them in one are equal respectively to the two 
sides and the contained angle in the other, had been shown by 
the teacher, and the demonstration repeated by the pupils, who 
were interrogated closely upon it. An application of the 
theorem was at once required, to determining the distance 
between two points, one of which is inaccessible. Two of the 
class found the solution immediately, and all were able to take 
part in the subsequent discussion of the problem. 

Cosmology, (Weltkunde.) 

PREPARATORY SCHOOL. 

II Class. Elements of botany and zoology. Excursions for practical instruc- 
tion in the former. Four hours. 

I Class. Geography and the drawing of maps. Elements of physics and tech- 
nology. Biography. Three hours. 

NORMAL SCHOOL. 

II Class. Revision of the above studies. Three hours. 

I and II Classes united. General views of the earth and its productions and 



SEMINARY FOR TEACHERS AT WEISSENFELS. 335 

inhabitants. One hour weekly for one year. Gardening and hygiene (Gesund- 
heitskunde). Two hours weekly for two years. 

The lectures in the normal school on these subjects are by 
the director. The means of illustration in physics are small, 
and the whole course is chiefly intended to show the future 
teachers how wide a range of knowledge may be opened to them 
by study. The natural history is illustrated for the most part 
by drawings. To render the seminarists more useful in their 
situation of country school-masters, which a large proportion of 
the pupils become, they have lectures on the principles of agri- 
culture and gardening, and also practical lessons from the 
gardener, who has charge of the grounds. The pupils work 
during the appropriate season every day in turn, under the di- 
rection of the gardener. Good manuals, conveying correct but. 
elementary instruction on these matters, are much wanted. 
They should, perhaps, be prepared by a teacher, but by no 
means allowed to go into use without revision by persons 
specially acquainted with the different branches of science thus 
grouped together. This revision would insure the accuracy 
which, though diflicult to attain, is so necessary; the more so 
in conveying such elements, as there is no collateral knowledge 
to correct or modify error as to fact or theory. 

Science and Art of Teaching. 

PREPARATORY SCHOOL. 

The first class receive simple directions for keeping school, and lessons on 
teaching. They attend in turn the classes of the seminary schools two hours 
weekly, but take no part in teaching. 

NORMAL SCHOOL. 

II Class. Lessons on teaching, three hours. Visits to the schools, three hours. 

I Class. Lessons on the art of teaching, three hours. Visits to the schools, five 
hours. Lessons on the instruction of the deaf and dumb, by the director of that 
department, one hour. 

I and II Classes united. Science of teaching, two hours. 

The director delivers the course on the science of teaching, 
which in these schools is considered of the highest importance, 
and also gives a portion of the lessons in the art of teaching 
to the first class. 



33G GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARV PERIOD. 

The theoretical instruction in the science and art of teach- 
ing embraces two courses, each of a year, the first being de- 
voted chiefly to education in general, the second, to instruction 
and the arrangements of the school.* The director remarks 
of this course, that the pupils learn by it to say a good deal 
upon these subjects, and sometimes believe that they can easily 
execute what they can so readily describe, an opinion of 
which practice can alone show the error, and which it is es- 
sential should be removed. The general theory of education 
is founded upon the constitution of man, and under the head 
of instruction, the methods of teaching the various branches are 
described. The practice v/hich must render this theory of real 
use is had in part in the schools. The pupils attend the free 
school, the burgher school, and the deaf and dumb school, at 
stated times. They go at first as listeners, next take part in the 
instruction, under direction of the assistant teachers, and lastly 
instruct the classes. In order that they may have models of 
teaching, not only in the assistants, but in the teachers of the 
seminary themselves, the latter give lessons occasionally in the 
different schools ; thus the director teaches one hour per week 
in the seminary school, the second teacher two hours, and the 
third and fourth teachers four hours. The lower class attend 
the several classes of the burgher school, except the highest 
girls' class, remaining, in general, one fifth of the time in each 
class except the lowest, where they remain double this time, 
and visiting each class twice at intervals. The upper class 
attend also the girls' class, the deaf and dumb school and the 
free school, remaining one-eighth of their time in each of the 
classes. Each member of the lower class keeps a journal of 
his visits to the schools, which is inspected by the second 



* Harnisch's Manual of Common School Matters (Handbuch des Volks-schul- 
wesens) is used as a text-book. 

A more common division of the course is into pedagogics, or the principles of 
education and instruction, Mcthodics, or tlic art of teaching the system or 
methods of education, to vvliicii a tliird division is sometimes added, called di- 
dactics, vjfhich relates to tho subjects of education, (Schwarz Erzichung -und Un- 
terrichts lehre.) 



SEMINARY FOR TEACHERS AT WEISSENFELS. 337 

teacher. Each of the first class draws up a report of his oc- 
cupation and observations in the schools, which is reviewed 
by the assistant teacher of the class to which it refers, and is 
then examined by the second teacher and by the director. 
The several assistant teachers make reports upon the qualifica- 
tions of the seminarists who have given instruction in their 
classes. By these arrangements, a pupil who has the mental 
qualities essential to a teacher, cannot fail to become well 
versed in the practice of his profession. Habits of observation 
are inculcated, which must be of great service to him in his 
practice, enabling him to adapt himself to the circumstances in 
which he is placed, and to profit by the experience of every 
day. 

To exemplify the principles and methods, a small number of 
the children from the seminary school are brought into the class- 
room of the seminary, and are examined upon a given subject 
by some of the pupils. The class present and the director make 
their notes on these examinations, and the exercise terminates 
by an examination of the children by the director himself, as 
an exemplification of his views, and that they may not receive 
injury from being left in a half or ill-informed state on the sub- 
jects of the lesson. The children having retired, the diflJerent 
members of the class make their criticisms, which are accepted 
or shown to be erroneous by the director, a conference or dis- 
cussion being kept up until the subject is exhausted. The cha- 
racter of each exercise is marked by the director, who is thus 
enabled to judge of the progress made by every member of the 
class, and to encourage or admonish privately, according to 
circumstances. 

The lectures given by the head master of the school for the 
deaf and dumb are also accompanied by practice, a certain 
number of pupils being detained every day for that purpose. 
The basis of the method is the idea that it is possible to restore 
the deaf mute to society, by enabling him to understand spoken 
language from the motion of the lips, and to speak intelligibly 
by mechanical rules. It is hoped ultimately, by training every 
school-master in this method, that the mute may be instructed in 



338 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

schools with Other children, and thus not be required to sunder 
tics of kindred during a long absence from home. The pupils 
of the deaf and dumb institution do not live in the establishment, 
but are boarded with tradesmen of the town of Weissenfels; 
the object is to induce the practice of the lessons out of school, 
the pupils being enjoined to avoid the use of signs. The 
first lesson is one in articulation. The principle of this instruc- 
tion is now dominant in Germany, but up to this time the sys- 
tem has not been fairly tried by its results. The indomitable 
perseverance of the masters of the principal schools which I 
visited struck me with admiration, but I was not convinced 
that what they aimed at was practicable, at least to the extent 
which their principle asserts. The attempt deserves, however, 
the best encouragement. 

Drawing. 

PREPARATORY SCHOOL. 

The two classes united for geometrical and perspective drawing. 

NORMAL SCHOOL. 

The same course continued. 
Music. 

PREPARATORY SCHOOL. 

The two classes united for instruction in tlie elements of music. Choral sing- 
ing. Instruction is given on the piano and organ to the pupils, divided into four 
sections. They are also taught the violin. 

NORMAL SCHOOL, 

The instruction, as just stated, is continued. Theory of music. Composition. 

The violin is taught as the means of leading the exercises in 
singing in the elementary schools. The piano serves as an in- 
troduction to the organ, a knowledge of which is important to 
the Prussian school-master, as enabling him to act as organist 
in the church of the parish where his school may be situated. 
So high a value is placed upon an elementary knowledge in 
vocal music, that an ability to give instruction in it is indispen- 
sable to admission into the class of teachers. It is not, therefore, 
surprising that the pupils of the seminaries in general are pro- 
ficients in music, I confess, however, t^at I was not prepared 



SEMINARY FOR TEACHERS AT WEISSEN'FELS. 339 

for the advance in the theory and practice to which many of 
the first class in this school had attained. In regard to the 
former, I was present at one of the exercises in composition, 
in which the teacher* read, and the pupils transcribed three 
stanzas of poetry. This done, they were required to compose 
an air adapted to the words. In less than ten minutes a fifth 
of the class were ready. The teacher took his station at a 
black-board, on which the ledger lines were drawn, and one of 
the pupils whom he designated began to sing the words to the 
air which he had composed, the teacher writing the music 
meanwhile. This air was pronounced not to be original. A 
second was tried, which the teacher thought an imitation. A 
third and fourth he accepted, and wrote upon the board. They 
were criticised by both the class and teacher, set to parts by 
the former, and sung. The two classes were in the next hour 
united for choral singing, in which many are proficient, the 
teacher leading at the organ. 

The course of drawing is limited in extent, the object being 
chiefly to give opportunities to those pupils who have a taste 
for drawing to cultivate it. In fact, as it tends to divert atten- 
tion from more important matters, which the short time spent 
at the seminary requires entire devotion to, it is not much en- 
couraged. 

The four teachers attached to the normal school have charge 
of specific departments of labour, as well as of particular im- 
plements of instruction. The director has the general super- 
intendence of the instruction, discipline, household arranger 
ments, and finance, and is librarian of their small collection. 
The second teacher has charge of one of the schools, of the mu- 
sical exercises, books, and instruments; a third, of the students 
when assembled, especially in the school-house, and of the draw- 
ings, copy-slips for writing, and maps. The fourth superintends 
the pupils while in the dwelling-house, and also at meals. These 
teachers are aided in their duties by younger ones attached 
to the seminary, under the title of assistant teachers. The 
dining-hall, or the recitation-rooms, serve as places of study, 

- Mr. Hcnsclicl. 



340 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

according as the pupils are in the school-house or in the dwell- 
ing, the two buildings being separated by a portion of the 
grounds. The chapel, which is a neat room connected with 
the school-house, serves for the music-room, as well as for the 
religious exercises. 

The order of the day in the normal school will serve to 
show how constantly these young men are employed in pre- 
paring for the duties of their arduous profession, and yet they 
appeared to me always cheerful in the performance of their 
self-imposed task. In winter, the pupils rise at five, and, after 
washing and dressing, have a brief religious exercise, and study 
until breakfast, which is at seven o'clock. Until eight there is 
recreation. From eight until twelve they are in school, en- 
gaged in recitation, listening to lectures, or teaching. From 
twelve until one they have dinner and recreation. From one 
until five they are again in school. From five until seven or 
half past seven, in summer, there is recreation, or excursions 
are made with a teacher, and then study until nine. In win- 
ter there is recreation until six, from six to eight study, and 
from eight to nine musical exercises, one-third playing on the 
violin, another on the organ or piano, and another singing. At 
half past nine in winter, and ten in summer, the pupils retire. 
There are prayers morning and evening. On Wednesday and 
Saturday they have half of the day for recreation, and in sum- 
mer make excursions to collect plants or minerals. A place for 
gymnastic exercises is provided, and used during the hours of 
recreation. 

The moral education of these young men is closely attended 
to. They not only receive direct religious instruction, but the 
best examples are constantly before them. Tiie chief reward 
for proficiency or good conduct is the approbation of the teach- 
ers, the principal punishment, short of dismission, their dis- 
approbation. The director has, also, the influence resulting 
from his power to give pecuniary assistance to the meritorious, 
while in the school, and to secure them good places at leav- 
ing it. The greatest harmony reigns throughout the establish- 
ment. On the evenings of Saturday, there are frequently par- 
ties in turn among the teachers, to which the pupils are invited, 



SEMINARY FOR TEACHERS AT WEI5SENFELS. 341 

and where there is usually music. Those who have acquaint- 
ances in the town, are encouraged to visit their families, but 
the places of visiting must be known to the director. 

Physical education is most essential where young men, at the 
time of life of these seminarists, are sedulously engaged in intel- 
lectual pursuits, and necessarily so much confined to the house. 
They, therefore, have gymnastic exercises or work in the fields 
or garden, or w^alk during those periods of the day and parts of 
the week allowed for recreation. Care is taken that, unless 
indisposed, they do not remain in the house at those times, 
when the w-eather permits them to be in the open air. There 
is an infirmary for the sick, in which one of the pupils in turn 
acts as nurse, and a physician is called in when necessary. 

The school year is divided into three terms, the first from the 
beginning of June until August, the second from September to 
Christmas, and the third from January to May. The holidays 
are four weeks in August, two at Christmas, and one at Easter. 
During the first two named, the pupils go home to their friends. 
Christmas is celebrated in the school, and at the close of the 
first and second terms there are private examinations, the re- 
sults of which are communicated to the students. At the close 
of the third term, the examination for passing from the second 
to the first class is held, and none are promoted from one 
class to another unless fully proficient in the courses of the past 
year. At the end of the second year, they are examined upon 
the whole range of study, and in composition and orthography. 
Those who pass satisfactorily receive a diploma, and find no 
difficulty in obtaining employment as teachers. Some of the 
most promising are frequently retained in the schools of the in- 
stitution as assistant teachers, under the appointment of the di- 
rector. The additional experience thus gained is of importance 
in a professional, and ultimately in a pecuniary point of view. 

Every pupil, on leaving the school with a diploma, makes a 
drawing, or copies a piece of music or of writing, which he 
leaves as a memento. 

The pupils of all the normal schools are bound by law to 
serve in such situations as may be assigned to them for three 
years, or to pay certain sums in lieu of this service. 



342 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

The domestic economy is superintended by the director, 
who has a house-keeper under his orders. Dinner is provided 
at a common table, but each person furnishes himself with break- 
fast and supper. The diet is of the plainest kind, but there is 
meat for dinner every day in the week except two.* The po- 
lice of the establishment is attended to by the pupils themselves. 
The members of the second class, in turn, have charge of the 
police of the school-rooms, dormitories, of the lamps, of ringing 
the bell, &c., or these duties are executed by those who have 
fallen under censure. The first class superintend the fires and 
out of door work, have charge of the cellar, store-room, lavatory, 
&c. There are three dormitories, under the general superin- 
tendence of one of the teachers, aided by pupils selected for the 
purpose. The bed and bedding are furnished by the pupils at 
entrance. The lodging of these youths is, like their fare and 
clothing, of the plainest sort; a plainness which puts in strong 
relief the richness of the moral and intellectual culture aflbrd- 
ed by the institution.! 

SEMINARY FOR TEACHERS OF THE CITY SCHOOLS AT 
BERLIN. 

This is one of the more recently erected seminaries, and its 
objects are declared to be — first, to educate teachers for the city 
schools ; second, to enable teachers to advance in their voca- 
tion, by providing them with lectures, and with a library ; and 
third, to enable candidates for the ministry to become some- 
what acquainted with the art of teaching, as they are required, 
subsequently, to act as inspectors of the schools. The first of 
these is the main object of the institution. The teachers to be 
furnished are, in general, of the grade required for the burgher 
schools. This, with its location in the city, renders the general 

* The dinner costs seven dollars and fifty cents per annum, or about two cents 
and a-half per day. If a pupil receives no stipend from the institution, he is 
charged but half this sum, 

t The yearly cost of this institution is but about twenty-eight hundred and 
forty dollars. The director receives a salary of six hundred dollars, which en- 
ables him to live very comfortably, and to maintain his proper station, on a par 
with the burgher authorities, the clergyman, district judge, &c. 



SEMINARY FOR CITY TEACHERS AT BERLIN. 343 

plan of this school different from that already described. The 
care taken in the selection of the directors of the normal schools 
prevents the necessity for minute regulations, and does what 
no regulation can, namely, infuses the proper spirit; hence, 
there will always be found differences in the minute details of 
these institutions, which may not, however, be essential. 

The director of this seminary* is also the head of the school 
of practice attached to it, and already described. There are, 
besides him, eight teachers for both the s.chool and seminary. 
The pupils of the latter are about fifty in number. 

The pupils generally live out of the seminary, there being 
accommodations but for sixteen or eighteen within the buildings. 
It is an important question, whether the method of boarding the 
pupils in or out of the house shall be adopted in these institu- 
tions, and I believe that it has been rightly solved, both at Weis- 
scnfels and here, adopting in the former school the method of 
collecting the pupils, and in the latter, of allowing them to 
dwell apart. 

The conditions for admission are nearly those, as to certi- 
ficates, age, and qualification, of the Weissenfels school, taking 
as the standard of qualification the attainments of pupils from 
the preparatory department. Thus, eighteen years is the gene- 
ral age of admission, and the applicants must present to the 
school-board of the province certificates of baptism, of having 
attended the first communion, of having attended school, of mo- 
ral conduct, of good health, and that their parents or guardians 
will support them while at the seminary. The candidates are ex- 
pected to be prepared for examination on the principal parts of 
the Bible and the chief truths of Christianity, and to be acquainted 
with some of the principal church songs; to express themselves 
correctly in words and in writing, and to have a good know- 
ledge of the etymology of the German language; to understand 
the ground rules of arithmetic, proportions, and fractions, and 
the elements of form in geometry, to possess a competent know- 
ledge of geography and history, to know the use of mathe- 
matical instruments, and to have an elementary knowledge of 

* Dr, Dicstcrwcg. 



344 GENERAL EDUCATIOiV. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

music. The school does not professedly maintain any pupil 
while receiving instruction, but assists some of those of the 
second year who are meritorious, and makes a further advance 
to those of the third year who have shown themselves worthy 
of their calling.* 

The courses are of three years' duration, of which the first 
is entirely occupied with revising and extending the attainments 
of the pupil; the second is, in part, devoted to teaching, but 
under the inspection of the director, and the third is mainly 
filled up with teaching in the school attached to the seminary 
or others of the city. This arrangement is intended, first, to 
secure a due amount of scholarship on the part of the pupils, and 
next, to make practical teachers of them. The first essays in 
their art are made under close supervision, and subsequently, 
the independent teaching aflx)rds them opportunities for compar- 
ing the theoretical principles which are inculcated in the lec- 
tures at the seminary with their daily observation, and the 
communication of their remarks in meetings with the director 
gives them the advantage of his experience in guiding their 
observation. 

The scope of the instruction here does not differ essentially 
from that at Weissenfels, the subjects being reproduced in a 
different form. The following table gives the names of the 
branches, with the time occupied in each of the classes, the 
third class being the lowest. The course of each class is a year 
in duration. 

The hours of duty are from seven in the morning until noon, 
and from two in the afternoon until four for the second and 
third classes, with few exceptions. The first class receive 
their instruction from half past five until half past seven in the 
evening, except on Wednesday and Saturday. Wednesday is a 
half-holiday for the lower classes, as well as Saturday. 

The religious instruction is given by a clergyman. The 
physical education is left much to the discretion of the young 

* Tliis may amount to sixty dollars yearly. The boarders at the school 
pay but three dollars and thirty-seven cents pur quarter for their lodging. An 
entrance fee of twelve dollars is paid, which exempts the pupil from furtlier 
charges for instruction. 



SEMINARY FOR CITY TEACHERS AT BERLIN. 



845 



men, at least in case of those who live out of the seminary. The 
school is deficient, as the one already described, in the means 
of illustrating the courses of natural philosophy and natural his- 
tory, but the pupils may have access to the natural history col- 
lections of the university. 

Table of the distribution of time among the different employments at the 
Berlin Seminary. 



SUBJECTS OF STUDY, &c. 



Pedagogy, - - - 
Practice, . . . - 
Religious Instruction, 
Theory of Music, - 
Vocal Music, - - 
German Language, 
Reading, . - - - 
Arithmetic, - - • 
Geometry, - - - 
Geography, - - - 
History, - - - - 
Zoology, .... 
Mineralogy, • - - 
Physics, .... 
Drawing, .... 
Writing, . - . - 
Playing the Violin, - 

14 



HOURS PER WEEK. 



o 



346 GENERAL EDUCATIOiV. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

The method of instruction, as in the other school, is mainly 
by lecture, with interrogations. The inductive system is fol- 
lowed in the mathematical branches. The works of the di- 
rector on these subjects enjoy a high reputation, and are in 
use in many of the schools. The exercise called " practice," 
in the duty of the first class, is that which I have already 
described, where the pupil gives instruction under the eye 
of his class-mates and of the director, and this instruction 
is made the matter of subsequent criticism. Here the semi- 
narists themselves act as pupils, receiving supposed lessons 
from one of their class, while at Weissenfels, pupils from the 
seminary class are called in. This latter plan appears to me 
to have great advantages over the one adopted here, which, 
however, is used, I believe, only in the case of the first class, 
who receive lessons at times when the schools are not in session. 

PRIMARY NORMAL SCHOOL AT HAARLEM. 

This school, which has been already referred to in the chap- 
ter on primary instruction in Holland, is peculiar in regard to 
instruction, practice in teaching, and discipline. It is intended to 
prepare for at least the second grade among primary teachers, 
which, it will be remembered, qualifies for the mastership of 
any primary school, the first class being an honorary grade. 
The age of admission, the time of continuance, and the courses 
of instruction, are regulated accordingly. 

The director* is the head of the institution, and controls 
absolutely all its arrangements. His principle, that a teacher 
in such a place should be left to study the character and dis- 
positions of his pupils, and to adapt his instruction and disci- 
pline to them, dispenses with rules and regulations, or con- 
stitutes the director the rule.f To carry out this principle 

* Mr. Prinsen, to whom I have already referred as one of a class of teachers 
who adorn this profession in Holland. 

+ When M. Cousin, in his visit to Haarlem, invited Mr, Prinsen to communi- 
cate to him the regulations of his school, and then to sliow him how they were 
carried out, first the rule, then the results, the director replied, ♦' I am the rule." 



NORMAL SCHOOL AT HAARLEM. 347 

requires that the school should not be numerous, and it is ac- 
cordingly limited to forty pupils. There is an assistant to the 
director, who shares in the general instruction with him, and 
upon whom the religious teaching of the pupils specially de- 
volves. The school is visited periodically by the inspector- 
general, who examines the pupils personally, and notes their ge- 
neral and individual proficiency. 

To be admitted, a youth must be over fifteen years of age, 
and have passed an examination upon the studies of the elemen- 
tary school, satisfactory to a district-inspector, who recom- 
mends him for admission. He is received on probation, and at 
the end of three months, if his conduct and proficiency are 
satisfactory to the director, is recommended to the minister 
of public instruction, who confirms his appointment. 

The course of theory and practice lasts four years in ge- 
neral, though, if a pupil have the third lower grade of public 
instruction in view, which is attainable at eighteen years of age, 
he is not required to remain connected with the institution be- 
yond that age, and indeed may leave it, on his own responsi- 
bility, before the close of the regular course. The second 
grade is only attainable at the age of twenty-two, and hence it 
is not usual for pupils to enter this school as early as the law 
permits. The theoretical instruction is composed of a review 
and extension of the elementary branches, as the Dutch lan- 
guage, geography, arithmetic, elementary geometry, the history 
of the country, natural history, religion, writing, and vocal music, 
and also of general geography and history, natural philosophy, 
and the science and art of teaching. This is communicated in 
the evenings, the pupils meeting at the school for the purpose. 
During the day they are occupied in receiving practical in- 
struction, by teaching under the inspection of the director in 
the elementary school already spoken of, attached to the nor- 
mal school and occupying its rooms, or in teaching in some 
other of the elementary schools of the town of Haarlem. They 
pass through different establishments in turn, so as to see a 
variety in the character of instruction. The director, as in- 
spector of primary schools in this distrct, visits frequently those 



348 GENERAL EDUCATIOiV. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

where his pupils are employed, and observes their teaching, 
and also receives a report from the masters. The observations 
and reports are turned to account in subsequent meetings with 
his class. 

The pupils do not board together in the normal school, but 
are distributed through the town, in certain families selected by 
the director. They form a part of these families during their 
residence with them, being responsible to the head for the time 
of their absence from the house, their hours, and conduct. 
They take their meals with the families, and are furnished 
with a study and sleeping-room, fire, lights, &c. The director 
pays the moderate sum required for this accommodation from 
the annual stipend allowed by government.* The efficiency 
of such a system depends, of course, upon the habits of family 
life of the country, and upon the locality where the school is 
established. In Holland and Haarlem the plan succeeds well, 
and has the advantage that the pupils are constantly, in a de- 
gree, their own masters, and must control themselves, and that 
they are never placed in an artificial state of society or kind of 
life, which is the case when they are collected in one estabhsh- 
mcnt. The director makes frequent visits to these families, 
and is informed of the home character of his pupils.f The 
discipline of a normal school is of course one of the easiest 
tasks connected with it, for improprieties or levities of conduct 
are inconsistent with the future calling of the youth. Admoni- 
tion by the assistant and by the director are the only coercive 
means resorted to, previous to dismission. The director has 
authority to dismiss a student witliout consulting the minister, 
merely reporting the fact and case to him. Though this power 



* This annual stipend is ninety dollars. Supposing that a student has an entire 
bursary, he will require some additional funds to support him while at the 
scliool ; for his board, lodging, &,c. cost two dollars per week, which, for the forty- 
two weeks of term-time, amounts to eighty-four dollars, leaving liim but six dol- 
lars for incidental expenses. 

t Director Prinsen entirely disclaims the use of the police as aiding in the dis- 
cipline of the school, and alleges tliat, in attributing this to him, M. Cousin has 
misunderstood his remarks on the subject. See Cousin on Public Instruction in 
Holland, ('haptcr on Haarlem. 



PRIMARY NORMAL SCHOOLS OF VERSAILLES AND DIJON. 849 

may be important in increasing his influence, yet it has been 
necessary to exercise it but three times in twenty years. There 
are two vacations of from four to six wrecks each, during which 
the pupils, in general, return to their friends. The school has 
a lending-library of books relating to teaching, and of miscel- 
laneous works. This useful institution supplies for the primary 
schools every year from eight to twelve well prepared masters, 
who propagate throughout the country the excellent methods 
and principles of teaching here inculcated. 

PRIMARY NORMAL SCHOOLS OF VERSAILLES AND DIJON. 

Of the primary normal schools of France, first organized by 
the law of 1833, I visited two, which were specially recom- 
mended by high authority, those at Versailles and Dijon. With 
certain distinctive differences depending upon the personal 
character of the directors, and upon the localities, the general 
system of these schools is the same. I propose, first, to give 
a sketch of the arrangement of that at Versailles, and to follow 
this by a notice of that at Dijon. When the normal schools of 
France have had the same amount of experience which those 
of Germany now enjoy, a comparison can be more fairly made 
between them than at present. In France, the primary normal 
schools are yet in a condition of experiment, and it must be 
some time before the system best suited to the different parts of 
the country has been selected. The first of the above named 
schools furnished, in 1837, twenty, and the second seventeen 
primary teachers. 

The primary normal school of Versailles is for the depart- 
ment of SeinCj and Oise. It comprises within its ample pre- 
mises* several establishments for the instruction and practice 
of teachers. The school itself contains eighty pupils under 
regular instruction throughout the year, and furnishes a two 
months' course to adult school-masters. The establishments for 
practice begin with the infant school, and rise through the pri- 
mary to the grode of primary superior. Of the elementary 

* Used under a former dynasty to accommodate the hounds of Charles X. 



350 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

schools, one affords the young teachers an example of the 
method of mutual, and another of simultaneous instruction. 
The primary superior school had been recently established, at 
the date of my visit, in 1837. There is, besides, an evening 
department for the elementary instruction of adults, taught by 
the pupils of the normal school, and also a school of design, 
which is established here rather for convenience than as pro- 
perly belonging to the range of the institution. 

The whole establishment is under the immediate control of a 
director,* subject to the authority of a committee, and of the 
university, the inspectors of which make regular visits. The 
committee inspect the school by sub-committees once a month, 
visiting the recitation-rooms of the professors without giving 
special notice, a plan much to be preferred to that of stated 
visits. If a member of a committee desires questions to be put 
upon any particular points, he calls upon the professor to ex- 
tend his examination, or asks questions himself. The director 
examines the classes frequently, or is present at the lessons. 
There are eight professors for the various courses, and two 
"repeaters" (repetiteurs), these latter superintending the pupils 
when not with the professors, and giving them assistance if 
required. The repeaters are responsible for the execution of 
the order of the day in the institution, and for the police, and 
one of them sleeps in each of the two dormitories. Some of 
the teachers in the normal school also give instruction in the 
model schools, and have charge of the pupils while engaged in 
the practical exercises. The domestic economy is under the 
charge of the director, but he is allowed an assistant, who 
actually discharges the duty of superintendence, and who has 
brought this department into most excellent order.f 

There are a certain number of gratuitous places, to which 
pupils are admitted by competition, those found best prepared 
at the examination for admission having the preference. Pay 

* Mr. Le Brun, to whose politeness I am much indebted. 

+ During the first year of the institution, the fare of each student cost fifly- 
nino centimes (twelve cents) per day. Tiiey had meat twice a-day, except on 
the fasts of tlic church. 



NORMAL SCHOOL OF VERSAILLES, 351 

pupils are also received at a very moderate rate,* but are ex- 
actly on the same footing, in reference to the duties of the insti- 
tution, with the former. Young men who wish to compete for 
a place, and are not sufficiently prepared, may enter as pay 
pupils, and thus receive instruction directly applicable to their 
object. The age of admission is, by rule, between sixteen and 
twenty-one, but the former limit is considered too early for pro- 
fitable entrance. The qualifications for admission consist in a 
thorough knowledge of the subjects taught in the elementary 
schools. 

The period of instruction is two years. The first year is 
devoted to the revision of elementary studies, and the second 
to an extension of them, and to theoretical and practical in- 
struction in the science and art of teaching. The subjects of 
revision or instruction are, reading, writing, linear drawing, 
geography, history, the drawing of maps, morals and religion, 
vocal music, arithmetic, elementary physics, terraculture and 
pedagogy. 

The religious instruction is given by an ecclesiastic, who is 
almoner to the school; it includes lessons on the doctrines and 
history of the church, given twice per week. Protestants are 
not required to attend these lessons, but receive instruction out 
of the institution from a minister of their own confession. 

Physical education is conducted by means of exercises in 
gymnastics, by walks, and the practice of gardening. In sum- 
mer the pupils bathe once a week. The gymnastic exercises 
are taught by the more expert pupils to the scholars of the 
model schools, and appear to have taken well among them. 

The pupils study in a room common to all, and the degree of 
attention which they pay, and their conduct, are marked, ac- 
cording to a uniform scale, by the superintending "repeater," 
and reported daily to the director. Once every month the pro- 
fessor examines these classes on the studies of the past month, 
and reports the standing. Marks are also given for great pro- 
ficiency and attention, which are reported with the standing. 

* Five hundred francs, or about one hundred dollars, per annum. 



352 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

These marks, and those of the examination, are summed up, 
and when they amount to a certain number for the month, 
the pupil is entitled to a premium. The premiums consist of 
books uniformly bound, and accompanied by a certificate. Re- 
port is made of these pupils to the minister of pubhc instruction, 
and the record may serve them when desirous to secure a 
particular place. The director assembles the school to hear an 
account of these monthly reports, and makes such remarks as 
they may suggest. 

Besides the more usual school implements, this institution has 
a library, a small collection of physical and chemical apparatus, 
of technological specimens, already of considerable interest, and 
of models of agricultural implements. There are, also, two 
gardens, one of which is laid out to serve the purposes of sys- 
tematic instruction in horticulture, the other of which contains 
specimens of agricultural products, and a ground for gymnastic 
exercises. The pupils work by details of three at a time, un- 
der the direction of the gardener, in cultivating flowers, fruits, 
vegetables, &c. They have the use of a set of carpenter's and 
joiner's tools, with which they have fitted up their own library 
in a very creditable way.* In the second year they receive 
lectures on the science and art of teaching, and in turn give in- 
struction in the schools, under the direction of the teachers. 
Their performances are subsequently criticised for their im- 
provement. 

The order of the day in summer is as follows: 
The pupils rise at five, wash, make up their beds, and clean 
their dormitories, in two divisions, which alternate; meet in 
the study-hall at half past five for prayers, breakfast, engage 
in studies or recitation until one; dine and have recreation until 
two; study or recite until four; have exercises or recreation, sup, 
study and engage in religious reading and prayers; and retire 

• A carpenter who camo to attend tlic evening classes was found by the di- 
rector so intelligent, that he advised liim to prepare for the school. The young 
man succeeded in entering, at the annual competition, and subsequently, on leav- 
ing the school, received one of the best appointments of his year as a teacher. 



NORMAL SCHOOL OF VERSAILLES. 353 

at ten, except in special cases. Before meals there is a grace 
said, and during meals one of the pupils reads aloud. ' 

In distributing the time devoted to study and recitation, an 
hour of study is made to precede a lesson, when the latter re- 
quires specific preparation; when, on the contrary, the lesson 
requires after-reflection to fix its principles, or consists of a 
lecture, of which the notes are to be written out, the study hour 
follows the lesson. The branches of a mechanical nature 
are interspersed with the intellectual. The students of the 
second year are employed, in turn, in teaching, and are relieved 
from other duties during the hours devoted to the schools of 
practice. 

On Sunday, after the morning service, the pupils are free to 
leave the walls of the institution. The same is the case on 
Thursday afternoon. The director has found, however, bad 
results from these indiscriminate leaves of absence. 

The discipline of the school is mild, the age and objects of the 
pupils being such that the use of coercive means is seldom re- 
quired. The first step is admonition by a "repeater" or profes- 
sor, the next a private admonition by the director. If these means 
prove ineffectual, dismission follows. The director has great in- 
fluence, from his personal character, and from the fact that his 
recommendation can secure a good place* to the pupil imme- 
diately on leaving the school. The mode of life in the institu- 
tion is very simple. The pupils are neatly but roughly dressed, 
and perform most of the services of police for themselves. The 
dormitories are very neat. The bedsteads are of wrought 
iron, corded at the bottom. During the night the clothes are 
deposited in small boxes near the beds. The extra articles of 
clothing are in a common room. Cleanliness of dress and per- 
son are carefully enjoined. The fare is plain, but good, and 
the arrangements connected with the table unexceptionable. 
There is an infirmary attached to the school, which is, however, 
but rarely used. 

* The best places, in point of cmoluineul, are wortli liom lil'leen to eighteen 
hundred francs (about $300 to $360), 
1.5 



354 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

The schools for practice do not require special description, 
as their organization will be sufficiently understood from what 
has already been said of primary schools, and they have not 
been long enough in operation to acquire the improved form 
which, I cannot doubt, they will receive under the present able 
director of the normal school. 

The primary normal school at Dijon for the department 
of Cote d'Or, in its general organization, is the same as that at 
Versailles. It differs, however, in one most important par- 
ticular, which involves other differences of detail. All the in- 
struction, except of religion and music, as well as the superin- 
tendence, is under the charge of the director and a single 
assistant, who, by the aid of the pupils, carry on the schools of 
practice, as well as the courses of the normal school. This 
arrangement limits the amount of instruction, and interferes 
very materially with the arrangement of the studies. The 
school is conducted, however, with an excellent spirit. An 
idea of the plan will be obtained from the order of the day, 
which also contains an outline of the course of instruction. 

From five to six, A. M., the pupils say their prayers, wash, 
&c. From six to seven the higher division has a lesson in 
French grammar. The lower receives a lesson in geography 
or history alternately. From seven to eight, the higher divi- 
sion has a lesson in geography or history alternately; the 
lower division in arithmetic. From eight to half past eight, 
breakfast and recreation. From half past eight until eleven, a 
portion of the higher division is employed in the primary 
schools of practice, and the others are engaged in study. From 
eleven until one, writing and linear drawing for both divisions. 
From one until two, dinner and recreation. From two until 
half past four, as from half past eight to eleven. Recreation 
until five. From five to six, instruction in instrumental or vocal 
music for each division alternately. From six to seven, the 
higher division has a lesson in geometry or its applications, the 
lower division in French grammar. From seven until a quarter 
before eight, supper and recreation. From this time until nine, 
the higher division has a lesson in physical science or natural 



NORMAL SCHOOL OF ZURICH. 355 

history, mechanics, agriculture, and rural economy, or book- 
keeping; the lower division in reading. The last quarter of 
an hour is occupied by both divisions in prayers, after which 
they retire. This order applies to all the days of the week but 
Thursday, when, from eight to ten, the pupils receive moral and 
religious instruction. From ten to eleven, instruction in the 
forms of simple, legal, and commercial writings, and from two 
to four, engaged in the review of part of the week's studies. 
On the afternoon of Thursday the schools of practice are not 
in session. 

On Sunday, after the duties following their rising, the pupils 
are occupied in studying and revising some of the lessons of 
the week. From nine to ten o'clock, in religious reading, aloud. 
At ten they go to service in the parish chapel, attended by the 
director and his assistant. Receive moral and religious in- 
struction on their return until dinner time. After dinner, attend 
the evening service, and then take a walk. In the evening, 
assemble for conversation on pedagogical subjects and for 
prayers. 

NORMAL SCHOOL OF THE CANTON OF ZURICH AT KUSSNACHT, 
NEAR ZURICH. 

The efforts of the cantons of Switzerland, since 1831, to ex- 
tend the benefits of popular education, have been great, and 
already, to a certain degree, successful, and the adoption of the 
system of instructing teachers will insure rapid progress for the 
future. This system has been commended and enforced by 
the society for public utility, the branches of which, dispersed 
over the cantons, with their standing committees, and the gene- 
ral meetings of the society in different parts of the confedera- 
tion, give it great influence over public opinion. At its last 
meeting, an able, and I believe impartial, report upon the nor- 
mal schools was read, and an interesting discussion, productive 
of sound views on the subject, was elicited. Of the primary 
normal schools already estabUshed, I visited those of Lausanne, 



356 GE\ERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

the school for the canton of Vaud, Lucerne for the canton of 
Lucerne, Munchenbuchsce for Berne, Kiissnacht for Zurich, 
and Kreutzlingen for Thurgovia. Each of these has character- 
istics adapting it to its location, and depending upon the views 
of the councils of education of the cantons, and upon those of 
the directors. Obliged to limit myself in this Report to a spe- 
cimen of these schools, I have taken the seminary of Zurich, 
and the establishments connected with it, for description. 

The normal school at Kiissnacht is about a league from the 
town of Zurich, and the buildings are prettily situated on the 
borders of the lake of the same name. This institution was 
re-organized in 183G, though the modifications made have been 
rather in the details than in general principles. It now consists 
of a school for teachers, a preparatory school for this seminary, 
and three primary model schools. It is intended to supply 
teachers for the diiicrent grades of primary schools of the can- 
ton, and during a portion of the year lectures are also delivered 
in the seminary to the older teachers, who are assembled for 
that purpose in their vacations. 

The superintendence and control of the normal school is 
vested by the legislative council in the council of education, 
who appoint a committee of superintendence from their own 
body. This committee visits the school at least once a month, 
attends its examinations, and, in general, inspects its manage- 
ment. The executive power is delegated to a director,* who 
has the immediate charge of the school, and arranges the 
plan of instruction, in subordination to the council of education. 
He examines the candidates for admission, inspects the classes 
of the seminary, and of the schools attached to it, and lec- 
tures in the school of repetition for the older teachers. He is 
also responsible for the discipline, and reports half yearly the 

* Mr. Scherr, a very remarkable teacher. Until recently, Mr. Scherr was an 
instructor of the deaf and dumb. The observation required in this department 
of instruction, and the newness of it, by vvliicli it has not degenerated into rou- 
tine, require a constant exercise of the intellect of the teacher, and render it aix 
excellent preparation for one who wishes to improve liis art. 



NORMAL SCHOOL OF ZURICH. 357 

state of the institution to the council of education. He is more- 
over present at the meeting of the committee of superinten- 
dence. There are three other teachers, besides a variable num- 
ber of assistants. These teachers in turn have charge of the 
pupils of the normal school in and out of school-hours. There 
are conferences of all the teachers, at which the director pre- 
sides. The manners of the people and the purpose of the semi- 
nary render the discipline of very trifling amount. The pupils of 
the normal school reside in the village of Kiissnacht, but spend 
the greater part of their time at the school, under the direction 
of its masters. All the time devoted to study, recitation or lec- 
ture, and regular exercise, is passed there. 

To be admitted as a candidate for the normal school, a youth 
must be sixteen years of age, and of suitable moral, intellectual, 
and physical qualities for the profession of a teacher. He must 
have spent two years -in the higher division of primary instruc- 
tion (called here secondary) in the model school, or some 
equivalent one, or have passed through the preparatory depart- 
ment of the normal school, which gives a preference to the 
candidate, other qualifications being equal. The examination 
of candidates takes place once a year, and in presence of the 
committee of superintendence, or of a deputation from their 
body. The formal right of admitting to the school is, however, 
vested alone in the council of education. The subjects of ex- 
amination are Bible history, speaking and reading, grammar, 
the elements of history, geography and natural philosophy, 
arithmetic and the elements of geometry, writing, drawing, and 
vocal music. The council of education fixes the number of pu- 
pils who may be admitted, and the most proficient of the can- 
didates are selected. There are forty stipendiary places, ten of 
the value of one hundred and sixty Swiss francs (forty-eight 
dollars), and thirty of half that sum. Natives who are admitted 
all receive their instruction gratis. If there is room in the 
school, foreigners may be received, paying twelve dollars per 
annum for their instruction. The number of pupils at the date 
of mv visit, in the autumn of 1837, was one hundred and ten. 



35S GE^EIlAL EDUCATIOIV. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

The stipendiaries are bound to serve as teachers in the canton 
two years; a very moderate return for the education received. 

There are two grades of courses in the normal school, one 
of two years for pupils intending to become teachers in the 
lower primary schools, the other of three years for the higher 
primary schools. The courses begin in April, and continue, 
with seven weeks of vacation, throughout the year. The sub- 
jects of instruction are: Religious instruction, German, French, 
mathematics, history, geography, natural history and philo- 
sophy, pedagogy, writing, drawing, and vocal and instrumental 
music. French is only obligatory upon the students of the three 
years' course. Gymnastic exercises and swimming are regu- 
larly taught and practised. 

There are three classes, corresponding to the three years of 
study. The courses were distributed, in 1837, according to the 
folio wine? table: 



NORMAL SCHOOL OF ZURICH. 



359 



Tabic of the distribution of tlic lessons in the Primary Normal School of Zurich. 



SUBJECTS OF STUDY, &c. 



Religious Instruction, 

Mode of communicating Religious Instruction, 

German Language, * *. 

Elocution, .*.. 

French Language, 

Gcograpliy, 

History, 

Arithmetic, 

Geometry, 

Natural History, - 

Natural Piiilosophy, 

Pedagogy, ..... 

Writing or Drawing, 

Geometrical Drawing, 

Vocal Music, 

Gymnastics, 



HOURS PER 


WEEK, 


Eh he 


in 

o 

n3 


K 

So 


§ 




K 


GQ 


hJ 


2 


3 
2 


3 


4 


3 

2 


10 


11 


5* 


5* 


2 


3 


3 


2 


2 


3 








3 


3 


3 


3 


3 


3 


Q 


o 


3 






3 


2 




3 


3 
















4 






2 


3 


3 


3 


3 


3 


44 


44 


44 



There is, besides, a lecture of an Iiour and a-Iialf on the art 
of building, once a week, attended by all the students. Those 
who learn instrumental music have lessons two hours and 



* Or individual instruction in music. 



360 GENERAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY PERIOD. 

a-half every week, and two hours of Sunday are occupied with 
singing in concert. One of the teachers devotes two extra 
hours every week to the assistance of some of the pupils in their 
studies, or to repetitions. 

At the close of each year there is a public examination, and 
the pupils are classed according to its results. On leaving the 
institution, they are arranged in three grades, the first, of those 
who have gone very satisfactorily through the school, the se- 
cond, of those who have passed satisfactorily, and the third, of 
those who have not come up to the standard. Certificates of 
the first two grades entitle their holders to compete for any va- 
cant primary school. 

The courses of practice begin in the second year, when the 
pupils take regular part in the exercises of the schools attached 
to the seminary. These are, first, two model schools for chil- 
dren from the ages of six to nine, and from nine to twelve, at 
which latter age the legal obligation to attend the schools 
ceases. The third, called a secondary school, contains pupils 
from twelve to sixteen years of age. Tlie system of instruction 
used in the lower schools is attended with very striking results. 
The lessons are not divided into distinct branches, studiously 
kept separate, as in most elementary schools, but are connected, 
as far as possible, so as to keep the different subjects constantly 
before the mind. Thus, a lesson of geography is, at the same 
time, one of history, and incidentally of grammar, natural his- 
tory, of reading and writing, and so on through the circle of 
elementary instruction. The Pestalozzian lessons on form are 
made the basis of writing, and with good success. The lowest 
class is taught to speak correctly, and to spell by the phonic 
method, to divide words into syllables, and thus to count. To 
number the lessons. To make forms and combine them, and 
thus to write, and through writing to read. The second passes 
to practical grammar, continues its reading and writing, the 
lessons in which are made exercises of natural history and 
grammar. Reading and speaking are combined to produce 
accuracy in the latter, which is a difliculty where the language 
has been corrupted into a dialect, as the German has in northern 



NORMAL SCHOOL OF ZURICH. 361 

Switzerland. Movable letters are used to give exercise in 
spelling and reading. The plan of the Pestalozzian exercises 
in grammar is followed, and when the pupils have learned to 
write, a whole class, or even two classes, may be kept employed 
intellectually, as well as mechanically, by one teacher. In 
reading, the understanding of every thing read is insisted upon, 
and the class-books are graduated accordingly. I never saw 
more intelligence and readiness displayed by children than in 
all these exercises; it aftbrds a strong contrast to the dulness of 
schools in which they are taught mechanically. The same 
principles are carried into the upper classes, and are transplanted 
into the schools by the young teachers, who act here as assist- 
ants. The examination of the second school in Bible history, 
with its connected geography and grammar lessons, in compo- 
sition, with special reference to orthography and to the hand- 
writing, and the music lesson, at all of which the director was 
so kind as to enable me to be present, were highly creditable. 

There are three classes in each of these schools, and the pu- 
pils of the normal seminary practice as assistant teachers in 
them at certain periods; the director also gives lessons, which 
the pupils of the seminary repeat in his presence. 

In the highest, or secondary school, the elementary courses 
are extended, and mathematics and French are added. 

The pupils of the preparatory department of the seminary 
spend two years in teaching in the two model schools, and in 
receiving instruction in the " secondary school," under the 
special charge of the director of the seminary. This establish- 
ment has furnished, during three years of full activity, tw^o 
hundred teachers to the cantonal primary schools. These 
young teachers replace the older ones, who are found by the 
courses of repetition not able to come up to the present state of 
instruction, and who receive a retiring pension. The schools 
must thus be rapidly regenerated throughout the canton, and 
the education of the people raised to the standard of their wants 
as republicans. 



46 



362 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD<r 



CHAPTER X. 



SECONDARY INSTRUCTION. 



Secondary instruction occupies the place between elementary 
and superior instruction. It follows the attainments which are 
indispensable to the pursuit of knowledge, and precedes the 
special studies which bear more or less upon the occupation of 
the individual in future life. It embraces the period from eight 
or ten years of age to seventeen or nineteen, as the ordinary 
average limits. Viewed in its most enlarged sense, this instruc- 
tion prepares for any kind of special studies for which matured 
intelligence is necessary, for the higher occupations of the use- 
ful arts, as well as for the learned professions. It is no objec- 
tion to this view that in some countries there are no public 
schools for the arts, as there are for the professions, since there 
are also some of the learned professions in certain countries 
which have no public schools set apart for them, but which are, 
nevertheless, avowedly in the front rank, and which require, as 
an introduction to their studies, a thorough secondary training. 
This view gives rise to a two-fold division of the subject — first, 
secondary instruction, as preparatory to the professions usually 
designated as learned ; second, as preparing for the higher prac- 
tical occupations, which are rising rapidly into, or have taken 
their place in the same rank with the professions. I leave these 
views to be judged of by the facts to be presented. The first kind 
of secondary instruction is to be met with, as a national system, 
in most countries of Europe, while in others it is supplied by in- 
dividual enterprise, and by independent foundations or corpo- 
rations. The institutions which supply this instruction in a more 
or less perfect form, are designated by various names. The class 
is composed of the academies and grammar schools, some of the 
colleges, the proprietary and certain other schools of England; 



SECONDARY INSTRDCTIOIf. 363 

ihe colleges, royal and communal "institutions," and boarding- 
schools (pensions) of France; the Latin schools and others of 
Holland; the colleges, auditories, and gymnasia of Switzerland; 
the colleges of Italy, and the gymnasia of the German states. 
It is true, that in some of these schools, especially in England 
and France, elementary instruction is given as well as se- 
condary, but this is generally done in separate departments or 
divisions. It is also true, that university instruction in some 
branches is merely a development of that of the schools, and in 
England, especially, as viewed in one light, is but an extension 
of secondary instruction. Nevertheless, the rule is, I believe, 
as laid down; and these cases must be considered as excep- 
tions, which, with others, tend to prevent any exact classifi- 
cation. The second kind of this grade of instruction exists 
in its most advanced state in Germany, where the " real 
schools," and some of the "trade schools," prepare pupils for 
the polytechnic institutions, or for "trade institutes," or com- 
mercial and other schools, which are the equivalents of the uni- 
versities. In France, it is by no means supplied by the primary 
superior schools, which are not real substitutes for the trade 
schools of Germany, while the higher grade of special instruc- 
tion is in a flourishing condition, and the pupil must seek the 
required preparation in estabUshments intended for other pur- 
poses, or by private study, or in the higher institutions them- 
selves. In England, the recent introduction of courses for civil 
engineers into the University of Durham, and into London Uni- 
versity and King's Colleges, is an earnest that the preparatory 
grade of schools will, in due time, also be provided. 

There can be no doubt that the scope and nature of the Gi- 
rard College require us to embrace both these grades of second- 
ary instruction, while our strength should be applied to the lat- 
ter, and will require to be so much more vigorously exerted, 
as the materials which we can derive from experience are 
much less complete than in the former division. In making a 
selection from these materials, I shall, as in treating the other 
divisions of my subject, offer such comments upon them, in con- 
nexion with the descriptions, as may seem necessary, and from 



364 GENERAL EDUCATIOX. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

these comments, and the comparison of different institutions in 
the same country, and of secondary instruction in different 
countries, show not only the grounds of my own opinions, but 
enable the trustees to judge how far they are founded in reason 
and in fact. 

The great number of institutions for preparation for the pro- 
fessions which, in a tour Hke that directed by the trustees of 
the Girard College, would necessarily be visited, renders an 
account of this branch difficult, from the abundance of matter 
collected. With real regret at the necessity for omitting ac- 
counts of interesting estabUshments, I have concluded to limit 
this notice to those of Scotland and England, from which those 
of our own country are principally derived, and to those of 
France and of Prussia. In so doing, though I am obliged to pass 
over the institutions of countries such as Switzerland, Holland, 
and the German states, wdiich I visited with great interest, and, 
I trust, not without profit, yet I fear that, even with these omis- 
sions, my Report will be extended beyond its due limits. 

Of the objects of sound education, namely, intellectual, moral, 
and physical development, the first two occupy, in general, near- 
ly exclusive attention, the last being left to regulate itself, and in 
some cases being even interfered with by the means taken to 
encourage the former; a growing attention, however, to this 
branch, at least so far as to prevent injury to the physical man, 
gives promise of a reform in this particular. The materials for 
the secondary instruction abroad, which forms the basis of the in- 
tellectual and moral education leading to the learned professions, 
are selected from among the following: the Latin, Greek, and 
Hebrew languages, the vernacular and other modern languages, 
mathematics, physics, chemistry, the natural sciences, geogra- 
phy, history, moral and mental science, religious instruction, 
and the arts. The selection from these varies from the ultra 
schemes, on one side, which would confine youth to the study 
of the ancient languages, with a small proportion of the verna- 
cular, and of geography, history, and religion, to the opposite 
extreme, which, without, perhaps, actually excluding the ancient 
languages, would so fiir restrict ihc studv of them, as to reduce 



SECONDARY Ix\STRUCTIO\ IS GREAT BRITAhV. 305 

them to comparative inefficiency as a means of mental train- 
ing. Between these extremes there exists, as will be shown, 
a variety of plans of instruction, each one recommending itself 
to some particular constitution of mind, and in the results of 
some of which close observation has failed to detect differences 
which would induce a very decided preference for one or the 
other. 

The question of the uses and abuses of classical and scientific 
instruction has been held up in almost all possible light?, in the 
keen strite wdiich has arisen for the possession of the secondary 
schools, and it will be my object in this Report to add to this 
body of argument for the trustees, that of facts and results, pro- 
duced by the gradual development of public opinion in the 
countries which will be under consideration. 

The secondary and higher departments of instruction were 
the first organized in the progress of civilization, while popular 
primary instruction has come into being under the impulse of 
modern improvement. Hence, while modifications in the latter 
have been easy, the former departments have presented fixed 
systems, in which even improvement must make its way 
against the odium usually attaching to innovation. 

SECONDARY INSTRUCTION IN GREAT BRITAIN. 

There being no general system of secondary instruction in 
Great Britain, this account resolves itself, as in the case of the 
primary schools, to a description of particular institutions, 
which may be considered as types of the class to which they 
belong. On account of the absence of system, more time is 
consumed, both in actual examination and in description, than 
is required in countries where the schools are organized accord- 
ing to a general plan. There, a few schools give a complete 
idea of all the variations which the system allows, while here, 
the number of special cases must be multiplied according to 
the variety in the ideas of individuals, or associations, who have 
the charge of secondary institutions. 

In England there is a large amount of endowment for schools, 
in wliich secondarv instruction, leading to the universities and 



3G6 GENERAL EDUCATIOIV. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

professions, is given, or, rather, which has hitherto been ap- 
plied, ahnost exclusively, to that purpose. The second divi- 
sion of this grade is left mainly to private establishments and 
associations. In Manchester and Birmingliam, however, the 
trustees of the endowed grammar schools have recently deter- 
mined to embrace both objects in their courses, and thus to 
satisfy the wants of a very large proportion of tiic population 
of those cities for whose benefit the schools were endowed, 
when the necessities of the community, in regard to education, 
were very different from what they are now. 

In England, secondary instruction for boys is given in the 
public grammar schools, which are endowed, and educate,* 
gratuitously, certain classes of students, in the preparatory 
schools erected by associations, and modelled according to the 
views of the committees or proprietors, and in private schools, 
which are numerous in all parts of the country. Some of the 
grammar schools, such as Eton, Winchester, and Westminster, 
are styled colleges. In many of these institutions, the elemen- 
tary period, as well as the proper secondary, is embraced. 

In Scotland, the title of academy, high-school, or college, is 
applied to similar establishments ; and in Ireland, that of aca- 
demy, academical institution, &c. There are very striking 
difterences between the university systems of England and 
Scotland, which tend to impress corresponding differences of 
organization on the schools which serve as feeders to them. 

While the subjects composing the courses of the secondary 
schools of Great Britain are not, in general, very different, the 
proportions in which they enter vary exceedingly. The English 
language, Latin and Greek, one of the modern foreign languages, 
history, geography, mathematics, and writing, are to be found in 
most of the programmes, and to these are added, in some, natural 
philosophy and chemistry, natural history, drawing, and music. 
In some systems, the ancient languages are relied on almost 
exclusively for mental culture, and English, with a little mathe- 

* Carlisle describes four hundred and seventy-five institutions in Iiis work 
entitled "A Concise Description of tlie EndoAvcd Grammar Schools of England 
apd Wales," See. Tiondon, 1818. 



SECONDARY INSTRUCTION IN GREAT BRITAIN. 367 

matics, history and geography, are admitted into the course ; 
in oliiers, the French is introduced, and the branches subordinate 
to the classics are raised somewhat in importance; in others, 
the modern languages, mathematics, and a knowledge of nature, 
are made prominent, the classics and English being, however, 
the basis of instruction; in others, the leading principle of or- 
ganization appears to be to restrict the instruction in the dead 
languages, as far as may be done consistently with giving a 
sufficient knowledge of them for future use, with a view to 
dwell especially upon the modern languages and the sciences. 
There are instructive examples of all these classes of secondary 
schools in Great Britain, and of many varieties between them, 
specimens of some of which I shall endeavour to select. In 
weighing the advantages of the several plans of education, it 
would be exceedingly satisfactory could the data be obtained for 
following, in life, so many of the pupils from establishments of 
the different kinds, as to form an average estimate of the results 
which each can produce. In the absence of these conclusive 
documents, the difficulty of obtaining which is too obvious to 
need pointing out, I have endeavoured to procure such general 
information as was possible of the results of the systems, to 
state fairly wdiere this information is defective, and to supply 
the deficiency, as far as practicable, by general reasoning. 

Information in regard to the results of plans for moral and 
physical education is chiefly to be sought in schools in which 
the pupils Uve, as well as receive instruction. These afford, 
especially in their government and discipline, varieties not less 
marked than those in the plans of instruction themselves. I 
shall, therefore, introduce notices of some of these schools, with 
a special view to these characteristic differences. 

It is impossible to look with an unprejudiced eye upon the 
present state of secondary instruction preparatory to the uni- 
versities in Great Britain, and to compare it with what is record- 
ed of its former condition, without perceiving that it has slowly 
changed for the better.* It is in fact even now changing. 

* Improvements will probably become more rapid under the enlightened re- 
gulations of the London University, recently established by act of pai'lianient. 



368 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

The other great branch of secondary education for the higher' 
occupations, for commerce, the arts and trades, will, I have na 
doubt, be efficiently introduced before many years. In fact, the 
steps taken by the University of Durham, by King's College, and 
by the London University College, for introducing courses of 
civil engineering, constitute an important era in this grade of 
public instruction. 

In giving an account of the secondary schools, I shall begin 
with those of Scotland and of the north of Ireland, which are 
closely connected with them, then proceed to the public schools 
of England, and finish by the private schools of the same 
country. For reasons before stated, when speaking of the 
materials of instruction, and for others which will appear in 
the notices of the schools, I have selected the following for 
description: in Scotland, the Edinburgh Academy and the 
Glasgow High School, both public institutions, and the Hill- 
street Institute of Edinburgh, a private school ; in Ireland, the 
Belfast Academy and academical department of the Belfast 
Institution; in England, the grammar schools of Rugby and 
Harrow, and the private schools of St. Domingo House, near 
Liverpool, and of Bruce Castle, near London. 

EDINBURGH ACADEMY. 

Edinburgh has two public classical schools, which are quite 
celebrated, the High School and the Academy. The latter, 
which I visited under circumstances more favourable to the 
understanding of its arrangements, may serve as the type of 
both. With this I shall compare the Glasgow High School, 
and the Belfast Academy and Academical Institution. 

The Edinburgh Academy was founded in 1824, to supply 
the demand produced by the increase of the population and extent 
of the city of Edinburgh. It seems also to have been an object 
with the founders to require more thorough teaching in the 
branches of an English education, than was then the case in 
classical schools generally. Their choice of a rector* shows, 

* The venerable Arclideaeon William, an Oxford scholar. 



ED1M3URGH ACADEMY. 369 

however, that there was no design to diminish the amount of 
attention paid to the ancient languages. 

The government of the academy is vested in a board of 
directors, who manage the concerns of the institution generally. 
They are elected by the proprietors, who meet annually for 
this purpose, three of them retiring each year. The special 
superintendence of the school is delegated to the rector, who 
is also head master, and gives instruction in the two higher 
classes. He is expected to visit the rooms of the different 
masters, devoting at least two hours per week to this duty. 
Indeed, the directors have found it to the advantage of the in- 
stitution to free him as much as possible from teaching, that he 
may give more of his time to the superintendence of the other 
teachers. 

There are four masters beside the rector, and, in addition, a 
special teacher of English, one of mathematics, one of writing, 
and one of French. Each regular master has charge, on the 
average, of about forty-nine pupils, giving them instruction 
principally in Latin, Greek, geography, history, and English. 

The writing-master has also charge of the younger classes 
in arithmetic, and teaches book-keeping. The whole school, 
however, is divided into seven classes, the three higher of 
which are taught the classics by the rector, with one of the 
regular masters as an assistant for each class. 

It is required of pupils admitted to this academy that they 
have completed their elementary studies, and are prepared to 
begin the ancient languages. They are from seven to nine 
years of age, and must have attainments equal to those of the 
highest boys' class of the Circus Place school, already described. 
The number of pupils in 1835 was three hundred and forty-four. 

The following were the courses taught in 1835 and 1836, with 
the distribution of them among the seven classes. 

FIRST CLASS. 

Latin. Rudiments witli the riile3 of syntax, and vocabulary of conjugated 
verbs. Delectus commenced. Grammatical exercises commenced. 

Geography. Outlines of Europe, Asia, x^frica, and America, with the par-- 
ticular geography of England and Scotland. 

47 



370 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

History. Simpson's History of Scotland. 

ScniPTUHE Biography, commenced. 

Recitation of poetry. 

Abitiimetic. Four ground rules. Reduction, compound addition, &c. 

SECOND CLASS. 

Latin, Rudiments revised. Irregular verbs and rules for genders of nouns. 

Delectus and grammatical exercises continued. 
Geography. Portugal, Spain, France, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, 

Austria, the smaller German states, Prussia, and Denmark. 
History. Simpson''s History of England, commenced. 
Scripture Biography and Recitation, continued. 

Arithmetic, continued through compound addition, &c. Reduction of weights 
and measures, vulgar fractions, the ground rules. 

THIRD CLASS. 

Latin. CcBsar, Books 1st and 2d, Gallic war. Electa ex Ovidio. Grammatical 
exercises. Rudiments, with the Latin rules for the genders of nouns and 
prosody. Third book of the Gallic war read by the highest thirty pupils. 

Greek. Rudiments through the verb. Extracts. 

Geography. Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Russia, Turkey in Europe and Asia, 
Arabia, Persia, Hindostan, Eastern Peninsula, China, Thibet, Tar- 
tary, Russia in Asia, and Asiatic Islands. 

History. Simpson's Roman History. 

Scripture Biography and Recitations, continued. 

Arithmetic. Revision, through simple proportions, 

FOURTH CLASS. 

Latin. Virgil, 1st eclogue. iEncid, 1st and 2d books. Sallusl. 
Mair's Introduction, commenced. 

Rudiments, with rules for gender and prosody. Written exercises, in 
prose and verse. 

Greek. Extracts. Rudiments, revised. (Two divisions of the class in une- 
qual progress.) 

Geography. Modern Geography, completed. 

History. Simpson''s History of Greece. 

Scripture Biography, and Recitations, continued. 

Arithmetic. Practice. Simple and compound proportions. Interest. Dis- 
count. Partnership. Profit and loss. Fractions. 

FIFTH CLASS. 
Latin. Virgil. JEncid, 2d book and Gth eclogue. Horace's Odes, 1st and 

2d books. Livy, part of 21st book. Introduction and rudiments, 

continued. 
Greek. Xenophon's Anabasis, 1st book and part of 2d. Homer's Iliad, 1st 

book. Dunbar's Introduction. Greek Testament. St. John. Greek 

rudiments, revised. Exercises, in prose and verse. 



EDINBURGH ACADEMY. 871 

Geography. Modern Europe, revised. Roman Empire. 

English. Milton''s Paradise Lost, read. Elkmentary Science. 

Arithmetic. Revision. Vulgar and decimal fractions; duodecimals, square 

and cube root. 
Geometry. Euclid, book 1st. 

SIXTH CLASS. 

Latin. Horace's Odes, books 3d and 4th. Virgil, 2d and 4th Georgics. 
Livy, 21st book, completed. Part of 22d book. Exercises. 

Greek. Sandford^s Homeric Exercises, Part 2d. Homer'' s Iliad, 2d book. 
Xenophon's Anabasis, 4th and 5tli books. Sophocles'' (Edipus Tyran- 
nus. Greek Testament, St. Mark. Exercises, in prose and verse. 

Geography. Greece, Macedonia, Thrace, Grecian Islands. 

English. CainpbelVs Pleasures of Hope. Tragedies of Henry VIII. and Co- 
riolanus. Irving^s Elements of English Composition. 

Arithmetic Revised. 

Geometry. Euclid, 1st four books. 

Algebra, to Quadratic Equations. 

French. Levizac^s Grammar. Cours de Liiterature. 

SEVENTH CLASS. 

Latin. Horace's Epistles and Ars Poetica. Cicero, Selected Orations, &c. 
Terence, the Adelphi. Tacitus, Germany and Agricola. Adams^ 
Antiquities. 
Greek. Homer, 9th book of Iliad. Sophocles, Antigone. Part of Herodotus. 

Exercises. 
Geometry. Euclid, six books. Trigonometry. Surveying. Navigation, 

Mensuration. Algebra. 
French. Levizac's Grammar. Cowpefs Letters, translated into French. 
Cours de Litterature. Fables. Tragedies of Cinna, Iphigenia, and 
Zaire. 

The Bible is read for an hour every Monday morning, and 
the school is opened with prayer. The following table, com- 
piled from the report of the rector to the directors of the 
academy in 1836, gives — though not so definitely as might 
be desired — an idea of the proportion of time allotted to differ- 
ent objects of study. 



372 



GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 



Distribution of tinle in the principal departments of study in the Edinburgh 

Academy. 



SUBJECTS 

OP 

INSTRUCTION. 


NUMBER OF HOURS PER WEEK. • 


> 

m 


i 

O 

'xTj. 




o 




T3 

C 
O 

o 

o 


3 
o 


Latin and Greek, . - 
English,|| .... 

French, 

Arithmetic &, Geometry, 
Natural Philosophy, - 
Scripture Biography, 
Geography, . . - - 
Writing, 

Total, - 


18* 

6 
6 


15 1 
4 
3 
5 

o 


18it 
4 

5 

3 

•+ 

3 


17 
2 

5 

3 
If 

3 


20 
o 

3 

3 

■1 

5 


14H 

3** 

3tt 


117 
25 

9 
30 

1 
1^ 
6f 
16 


30 


29 


30| 


29 a 


303 


28^ 





The general system of teaching is that usual in the English 
and Scottish schools. Text-books are multiplied, and the pupils 
come to the institution mainly to be examined on the lessons learn- 
ed out of it. The lower portion of a class, however, probably 
obtain the greater part of their knowledge by the drilling which 
takes place in the recitation. The extent of this drilhng, an4 



* Includes geography and composition, 

t Includes composition. 

X Besides geography. 

§ Latin alone. 

II Includes history. 

^ Includes Scripture Biography and spelling. 

** Arithmetic and writing are together set down at six. 

+t Writing and arithmetic, six hours. 

\\ In forming the total, tlie nnmhers of tlie sixth column have been doubled. 



EDINBURGH ACADEMY. 373 

amount of extra information communicated, depend upon the 
master, and upon the character of the course. For example, 
in the rector's class I heard an excellent extemporaneous lec- 
ture, or conversation, on ancient geography, introduced during 
a recitation upon a lesson in Livy, and these occasions are 
always rendered available by collections of maps and models 
which belong to the academy. The system is, however, essen- 
tially one of recitations of fixed portions of a text-book, the 
book, and not the teacher, being looked to as the principal 
source of ijiformation. In arithmetic the black-board is much 
used, and the English department has the advantage of the 
superintendence of Sheriff Wood, one of the directors, and will, 
I doubt not, come, in the end, to be more appreciated than at 
present. 

The stimulants to exertion are, besides the approbation of 
the teacher, changes of place in the classes during the daily 
recitation, places at the end of the session, and public examina- 
tions, with the award of prizes. A register is made at inter- 
vals of the places of the pupils, and the result of its summa- 
tion determines the standing of the individual at the close of 
the session. Recently, the practice of examining in writing has 
been introduced in the seventh or highest class, in addition to 
the usual viva voce method. Questions previously prepared by 
examiners not connected with the academy, on the different 
subjects of study, were placed before the class to be answered, 
and the result is stated to have been satisfactory. This excel- 
lent method is adopted from the English universities. 

In order to show the results of the system of education in 
a particular school, it is usual to have recourse to the arbitrary 
standard of the success of certain pupils in higher institutions. 
Average success in after hfe would afford some test of the va- 
lue of the education, but that of a few distinguished individuals 
proves chiefly that men of superior intelligence have at some 
time or other been connected with the school, and that they 
have not lost their powers by the course, without showing that 
their education has been the best possible. When, instead of 
considering general success in life, the more limited standard 



374 GENERAL EDUCATION-. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

of success in a higher institution is assumed, then it shows 
rather the adaptation of the lower education to the higher, than 
that the lower is good in itself. The test is, therefore, essen- 
tially defective, but, by extending the comparison to the ca- 
reer of many pupils, in a number of institutions, each of a dif- 
ferent scope, it becomes of some value. 

The cases presented by the directors of the Edinburgh 
Academy, in their reports for 1835 and 1836, as tests of the 
condition of the institution, appear to me too few to give a cor- 
rect notion of the average success of pupils for either of these 
years, the greatest number of pupils spoken of, from any one 
class, being eight, or but about one-sixth of the class. The 
number of higher institutions in which they have gained honors 
is, however, more satisfactory than the number of cases, em- 
bracing the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cambridge, 
Oxford and Dublin, the London University and Haylebury 
Colleges, and the Military School at Sandhurst. The number 
of different departments in which they have gained distinction 
is also quite satisfactory, and the inference, on the whole, is 
certainly favourable to the intellectual development which may 
be obtained at this institution. 

The discipline of the school is generally mild, and there is an 
effort made to bring the influence of the parents to bear upon 
the progress and general deportment of the child. 

HIGH SCHOOL OF GLASGOW. 

Having; described the Edinburgh Academv somewhat mi- 
nutely, I shall confine myself, in the notice of the High School 
of Glasgow, chiefly to the peculiarities of arrangement in the 
latter, which result from certain differences in the objects of the 
two schools. Though the High School of Glasgow stands in 
the same relation to the university of that city as the academy 
does to that of Edinburgh, and, indeed, is more intimately con- ■ 
nected with it, the former institution has also other objects, 
namely, to afford elementary instruction, and to educate youth 
for the pursuits of commerce, manufactures, and the arts. The 
liigh school has separate courses of English, classics, mathe- 



EOmBURGH ACADEMY. 375 

matics, writing, and drawing, any one of which may be fol- 
lowed alone, or several at a time. The hours of recitation are 
so arranged as to admit, as far as possible, that a pupil may 
pursue those courses which it is thought should be simultaneous. 
In the academy, as has been seen, the course is indivisible, and 
all its branches must be pursued by the student. The principle 
of equality among the teachers is carried out so impartially at 
the high school, that as two classical masters are required for 
the number of pupils who pursue that course, those who enter 
each alternate year constitute the class of its two masters re- 
spectively. The plan of organization is attended with the defect 
of want of uniformity in methods, and of adaptation to each 
other in the several departments, but it has the advantage of 
enabling pupils who are intended for diiTerent pursuits in life to 
follow the studios most appropriate to them, and thus supplies, 
in part, the place of the two estabhshments of Germany, the 
gymnasium and the real school. The future merchant, manu- 
facturer, and mechanic, may pursue together the courses of 
English, French, mathematics, drawing, and chemistry; the 
first may continue French and enter the commercial school, 
the second, mathematics and drawing, and enter the same 
school, while the third continues mathematics, drawing, and 
chemistry. This arrangement of the school adapts it to the 
wants of a manufacturing and commercial city, though I am 
satisfied that two schools, each with a fixed course of instruc- 
tion, would answer the end proposed much better. 

The classical department prepares for the University of Glas- 
gow, and as pupils may enter there at an early age, aivl require 
no very advanced attainments for admission, the studies of this 
school are comparatively elementary. The course lasts four 
years, and a private class may be followed for a fifth, by those 
who do not intend to pursue an academical career, or who wish 
to begin it better prepared than is usual. Greek is begun in the 
third year. 

The English department answers two purposes; it prepares 
very young pupils for the other classes, and it carries forward 



376 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

the more advanced through the higher courses of grammaiv 
logic, and belles lettres. 

This admirable course may be thus arranged, according to 
the subjects: 

I. Alphabet Class. Reading and spelling taught. Lessons on objects. Class 
hooks. Wood's Elementary Books. Elliot's Natural History. 

II. English Reading Class. Bible teaching and training as the foundation of i 
moral and religious knowledge. Readings in Biography, Natural, and Civil His- 
tory, Elementary Science, ^c. Grammar for beginners. Spelling, meaning, and I 
derivation of words. Class books. The Bible, Companion to the Bible, Wood's 
Instructive Extracts, First Grammar, English Etymologist. 

III. English Reading Class. Lessons in Natural History, Manufactures, , 
&c. illustrated by specimens and experiments. Grammar Incidentally. Spelling 
orally and by dictation. Elements of composition by weekly practice in letter 
writing. Class books. Book of Trades, English Etymologist, Parley's Natural I 
History. 

IV. History Class. Familiar Lectures, Ancient History and Biography, 
Modern History. 

V. Readings from the British Classics. Grammar and composition. Recita- 
tions. 

VI. Ghammah. Science and art of grammar. Pronunciation. Orthography, 
by dictation. Derivation of words. Synonyms. Punctuation. Composition. 
Practice in letter writing, and in the analysis of narrative and descriptive pieces. 
Class books. M'Culloch's Grammar. Booth's or Irvine's Composition. Carpen- 
ter's Synonyms. 

VII. Higher parts of Grammar. General Grammar. Outlines of Logic, 
with exercises in composition. Elements of Rhetoric and Belles Lettres, 
English Literature. Class books. Crombie's Etymology and Syntax. Dun- 
can's Logic, or Abridgment of Whately's Logic. Abridgment of Blair's Lec- 
tures. 

Each of these classes has, in general, one hour of recita- 
tion every day, but the more advanced pupils attend, usually, 
more than one of them. The methods of teaching adopted 
by the English master* are among the best which I saw 
abroad. He has combined the knowledge of things with that 
of words. His pupils are as well trained in the knowledge 

* Mr. Alexande J. Dorsey, who, having travelled on the continent and at home 
for improvement in methods of teaching, has adopted an eclectic method, which 
produces excellent results. He has especially studied the secret of the great 
success in the more modern German schools, and has followed out their methods. 



GLASGOW HIGH SCHOOL. 377 

of realities as in a school of a disciple of Pestalozzi, and in 
verbal knowledge as those of Mr. Wood. He relies more on 
the training of the school-room than is usual in England, and 
yet does not neglect the encouragement of study at home. 

The lessons on objects are illustrated by neat cabinet speci- 
mens of minerals, geological specimens, objects of art, &c. 
Mineralogy is early introduced, as affording a pleasant stimulus 
during the walks of the pupils. Practical geology is, to a cer- 
tain extent, useful in the same way; but I cannot assent to the 
introduction of theoretical generalizations, which are received 
by the pupils as established principles, and which make it diffi- 
cult for them, in after life, to separate the theories of the 
science from its facts. A knowledge of trades forms a second 
part of this instruction, and the various establishments of Glas- 
gow arc visited by the teacher and pupils. Habits of observa- 
tion, of analysis, and of order arc thus inculcated, while much 
knowledge, not only of art, but of the people among whom 
they arc to move, is acquired. 

The method of teaching orthography seems to me an im- 
provement upon that of the German schools. Besides the ordi- 
nary system of dictation, the master writes upon the black- 
board, by direction of one of the class, a word which is to be 
spelled, the pupil naming the letters. Criticism is called for 
from the class, and among those who signify, by a sign, that 
they wish to make a correction, the master selects one. He 
alters the word, according to the direction of the pupil, submits 
it anew to criticism, and so on. The whole class is thus kept 
alive, a result which marks the ability of a teacher, in a way 
not to be mistaken. The same words are parsed in the gram- 
mar class, the use of the black-board enabling the teacher to 
make the instruction really simultaneous, where, otherwise, it 
would be individual. 

Themes, or short essays, intended to introduce words as- 
signed by the teacher, and more advanced essays, upon speci- 
fied subjects, are written by the pupils, a-nd read in the class, 
attention being roused by permitting criticism by the pupils them- 
selves. In the reading lessons, correction by any one of the 
48 



378 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

class is allowed, the successful corrector taking the turn of the 
reader. These, and various other applications of the same gen- 
eral principle, of rendering the instruction simultaneous, make 
this school very remarkable. The arrangement of the school- 
room, with benches on raised platforms, is an important aid in 
the use of the method. The paraphrases of Whately's Logic, 
and other exercises in this branch, which I heard from the elder 
pupils, were very good. The historical lessons were illustrated 
by numerous drawings, calculated to convey accurate general 
information, and to impress the memory through the eye. The 
pupils change places, as in other schools, though this forms by 
no means the main dependance of the teacher for securing 
attention. Corporal punishment is not at all resorted to. 

Between each hour of recitation is an interval of ten minutes 
for recreation, during which, also, the air of the school-room is 
thoroughly changed. Both these are important details, and are 
very commonly overlooked. 

The commercial and mathematical department, besides uniting 
in a complete course with the classical and English depart- 
ments, gives special instruction to clerks, book-keepers, sur- 
veyors, navigators, &c. The branches taught are geography 
(principally to pupils from nine to twelve years of age, from the 
other departments), physical geography, and the elements of 
astronomy, arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry, heights and dis- 
tances, mensuration, algebra, including quadratic equations, and 
logarithms. The higher mathematics, including the differen- 
tial and integral calculus, and the elements of natural philo- 
sophy. The department of foreign languages furnishes instruc- 
tion in French and German. The writing and drawing de- 
partments are each under the charge of a separate master, and 
the first is subsidiary, in a degree, to the general objects of the 
school. A chemical course has recently been added to the fore- 
going, on a plan to which I shall refer more particularly here- 
after, in which the pupils manipulate. It is intended for boys 
from seven to fourteen years of age. The high school pos- 
sesses a library and an increasing collection in natural history. 
It furnishes, by the private exertions of its teachers, to the in- 



BELFAST ACADEMY. 379 

habitants of Glasgow, in addition to the regular courses for 
youth, others for adults, which, in some departments, are well 
attended. 

While this freedom of choice among the courses has advan- 
tages over the exclusive system, which allows no ■Dariation in 
the studies, even where pupils are intended for diflerent lines of 
life, I confess that I should much prefer a more simple arrange- 
ment, the parallel courses in the different schools being so regu- 
lated that the choice of branches of study would not devolve 
upon parents, who are most generally unwilling, and often unable, 
to judge in such matters. The destination of the pupil having 
determined which of the parallel schools he will enter, he should 
find a regulated course for him to follow. A facility of transfer 
from one school to another would remedy mistakes, or enable 
changes of purpose to take place. Such establishments might 
be under a common head, or be governed by a board of teach- 
ers, if it were considered desirable to unite them, and thus to 
realise the advantages which result from uniformity of methods 
in the different schools. 

BELFAST ACADEMY. 

The Belfast Academy has all the advantages of a general 
superintendence, with that of the division into particular schools. 
It consists, in fact, of four schools, a classical, mathematical, 
English, and writing school. Over each of them is a master, 
chosen by the trustees of the academy,* and the whole is super- 
intended by a principal, who has the chief direction of the dis- 

* Formerly, the choice of masters was vested in the principal, who has re- 
cently preferred to relinquish this right, as making the masters more independent, 
and, therefore, securing better men. The principal of this academy, Dr. Bryce, 
is among the most enlightened teachers of Great Britain, and liis experience is 
equal to his talents in his vocation. A thorough classical scliolar, and upholder 
of a complete classical culture, where it is attempted, he freely admits the claims 
of natural, mathematical, and mental science to a place in a full course, as 
deductions from both theoretical and practical grounds. In giving instruction to 
teachers. Dr. Bryce labours to inculcate principles rather tlian methods, and in 
selecting a teacher, places more stress upon the ability to teach, than upon actual 
knowledge. Dr. Bryce proposes, for the science and art of education, the term 
Pedeutics. 



380 GENERAL EDUCATION'. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

cipline and instruction. Tiie principal is also the classical 
master, and has the privilege of taking boarders in his family, so 
that this may be considered, in part, as a boarding-school. 

The discipline is of a mild and paternal character, though 
negligence is by no means tolerated, and corporal chastisement 
is resorted to when milder punishments have proved unavailing. 

The classical course prepares for entrance into Trinity Col- 
lege, Dublin, or carries the pupil through the higher studies, in- 
cluding the Hebrew. 

It would be useless to go into a recapitulation of the authors 
read, an example of a school of this grade having already been 
given; and I should not succeed in conveying in writing an idea 
of the spirit of the Principal, which constitutes the excellence of 
his method. It carries out individual teaching to a great degree 
of perfection; watching studiously the workings of the pupil's 
mind, and entering it by the avenue where it is found most ac- 
cessible, illustrating, reasoning, and repeating, unfolding to the 
understanding before asking the memory to take cognizance; 
encouraging to self-exertion, reproving, and persuading — com- 
paring the pupil frequently with himself, that he may see the 
progress which he has made. This system of individual teach- 
ing is as remarkable as the simultaneous method of the English 
department of the Glasgow High School. 

The experience of this institution may be confidently appealed 
to in favor of the introduction of the elements of natural history 
into similar schools; it has not only been found to act favourably 
by a direct development of the intelligence, but to react also 
as a stimulus to the classical studies, from the terminology which 
must be employed even in the elements of the science. Under 
the direction of the mathematical master, the pupils have a na- 
tural history society, which has collected a very tolerable 
museum, and which serves to induce exertion out of the school- 
room. 

In the writing school, a substitute has been tried with suc- 
cess for the usual practice of determining places in the class 
by comparative trials of skill between different individuals, 
namely, to fix the places according to the degree of improve- 



BELFAST INSTITUTIO]V. 381 

ment of each member of the class. In general, the head master 
of this institution is opposed to the system which acts entirely 
through emulation. Comparison of the same individual at dif- 
ferent periods with himself he considers more correct in prin- 
ciple, as doubtless it is, and where individual teaching can be 
practised, it may be used to a great extent. Where a school is 
efficiently conducted, it is by no means necessary to rely ex- 
clusively upon emulation as the governing motive, though I do 
not believe that it can be safely laid aside entirely even then, 
or that a character formed without its influence will be fitted 
for after life. Besides the method just referred to above, and by 
which the pupils are graded at stated intervals, the constant 
practice is to hear from them a criticism on their own writing 
lesson, consisting in a comparison of what they have produced 
with the copy which has been set them to imitate. 

In addition to the natural history society, there is another 
among the pupils of this school for declamation, &c., the ex- 
ercises of which are found beneficial. 

ROYAL BELFAST ACADEMICAL INSTITUTION. 

There is a second institution in Belfast, which, while it covers 
the same ground as the academy, extends its courses into the 
domain of superior instruction. It presents some peculiarities 
of government and arrangement, and which, as far as they be- 
long to the lower, or academical department, should be noticed 
here. 

This department consists of the following schools : " Eng- 
lish and geography," " arithmetic and mathematics," writing, 
classics, " French and Italian," and drawing. Each school is 
under a head master, who has assistants when required. The 
masters form a board, over which one in turn presides, for the 
regulation of the whole, subject to the inspection and control 
of the visitors and manao;ers of the institution. Certain of the 
teachers are allowed to take private pupils as boarders, who 
are, in regard to the domestic concerns, entirely under their con^ 
trol. The Board of Masters, with a Principal, w^ould, it ap- 
pears to me, unite the various advantages which I have pointed 



382 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

out in describing the different Ivinds of organization for govern- 
ment and discipline. 

The method of free courses is combined with that of a regular 
gradation of instruction. The Board of Masters recommends 
a certain course to be pursued, consisting of the English, wri- 
ting, and arithmetical departments, or, when the pupil is further 
advanced, of the English and writing, classical and mathema- 
tical departments, and including the modern languages and 
drawing, when desired. At the same time the courses arc 
entirely free, and if the parents do not abide by the recom- 
mendation of the board, the responsibility of a choice in the 
departments rests with them. The lime from ten o'clock A. 
M. to three P. M. is divided into four periods of an hour and a 
quarter each, and a pupil attends the schools in rotation, or may 
attend one for the whole four periods. The classical and Eng- 
lish schools are those to which the arrangement of the rest is 
subordinate: they have regular classes, and the irregularities 
are made to fall upon the writing and mathematical schools, in 
which there are no fixed divisions of classes. The teachers of 
French and of drawing hold their exercises at hours which do 
not interfere with those of the other masters. The course of 
drawing includes the higher kinds of drawing and painting, as 
well as the elements. 

There is a natural history society formed among the pupils, 
under the direction of the mathematical master, which has been 
found useful. 

The number of pupils in attendance is about two hundred, 
under six masters and ten assistants, averaging thirteen to a 
teacher. 

EDINBURGH INSTITUTION FOR LANGUAGES, MATHEMATICS, Sec, 
HILL-STREET. 

This institution was undertaken by its principal* to ascertain 

* Robert Cunningham, A. M., formerly head master of George Watson's Hos- 
pital, Edinburgh. This gentleman is now Professor of Languages in Lafayette 
College, Easton, Pennsylvania. The Hill-street institution at Edinburgh con- 
tinues to be sustained upon the plans which he had adopted. 



EDINBURGH INSTITUTION. 383 

whether a much greater amount of instruction in science, and 
in the branches commonly called those of an English education, 
together with the modern languages, might not be communi- 
cated, without injury to a thorough classical culture. In de- 
scribing it, I propose first to state the general arrangement of 
the institution, and then to enter into a comparison of its 
courses, as to character, extent, and results, with those of the 
Edinburgh Academy. 

There are two distinct courses of study, one intended for 
those who wish to become professional men, the other for those 
of more limited views. The following is an outline of both 
couf-ses, which extend over a period of about eight years, the 
pupil being supposed to enter between seven and ten years of 
age. 

PrPILS ATTENDIIfG THE LATIIT AND GREEK PUPILS NOT ATTENDING THE LATIN 

CLASSES. AND GREEK CLASSES. 

Age. 

7 to 10 yrs. English, Latin, arithmetic, English, including lessons on ob- 

and writing. jects, arithmetic, and writing, 

9 to 11 yrs. Latin, English, reading and English, French, geography, arith- 

grammar, geography, na- metic, natural history and writ- 

tural history, and writing. ing. 

11 to 14 yrs. Latin, French, English, English, French, German, English 

reading and grammar, reading and grammar, geogra- 

geography, history, and phy, history, arithmetic, and 

writing. writing. 

13 to 16 yrs. Latin, Greek, French, Ger- English, French, German, Italian, 

man, English composi- English reading, composition 

tion, history, mathema- and grammar, geography, liis- 

tics, elementary science. tory, mathematic?, elementary 
science, architectural and engi- 
neering drawing. 

The first of these courses is designed, like that of the Edin- 
burgh Academy, to prepare pupils for the universities, the age 
on terminating it being, on the average, about seventeen. The 
second is intended to prepare for practical life, and is similar 
to that of a German "real school." I confine my attention at 
present to the first of these. The courses may be divided into 
classical, including Latin and Greek; English, including read- 
ing, grammar, composition, geography, and history; foreign 



384 GENERAL EDUCATIOIV. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

modern languages, including French and German; science, 
including arithmetic, geometry, the lower mathematics and 
elementary natural history, natural philosophy, and chemistry. 

The attention of the pupil is called to more objects than in 
the academy. Is he able to pay sufficient attention to each? 
This may be determined, in part, by examining the progress 
made in the several branches, and as the English instruction is 
the basis of the whole, it w^ill be proper to begin the examina- 
tion with it. 

First, as to the time occupied: The academy devotes twen- 
ty-nine and three-quarters hours per week, in seven classes, to 
English, including geography and history; the Edinburgh insti- 
tution thirty-nine, in five classes, which cover nearly the same 
ground as 1o age. Next, as to the progress made in the two 
schools: Between the 1st of October, 1835, and the 26th of 
July, 1836, the following studies were completed in the Edin- 
burgh Institution: 

First English Class. Read and analyzed the sessional school collection. 
M'Culloch's Englisii Grammar. Etymology. Geography of Europe, Asia, Africa, 
and America, and of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Lessons on Objects, part 
first. Poetry, committed to memory. 

Second English Class. Read and analyzed two hundred and forty pages of 
Wood's Extracts. M'Culloch's Grammar. Etymology. Latin and Greek prefixes. 
Geography of Africa, North and South America, and of England and Ireland, 
France, Belgium, Holland, Spain and Portugal, Switzerland and Italy. Natural 
history. 

Third English Class. Higher division. Wood's Instructive Extracts read and 
analyzed. Lennie's Grammar. Geography of England, Scotland, Ireland, and 
France; studied maps of Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, British America, 
and the United States. Outlines of natural history. Written exercises on the 
weekly lectures of natural history, and outlines of geology and mineralogy. 

HisTOKY and Geographt Class. Minute geography of Portugal, Spain, 
Franco, Belgium, and Holland, Switzerland, Italy, and the Austrian empire, the 
smaller German states, and Prussia. 

Academy Geography. Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Norway, Western Rus- 
sia, Turkey in Europe and Asia, Hindostan. Decline and subdivision of the 
Western Roman empire. Rise of the kingdoms established on its ruins. Eastern 
empire. Kingdom of the Franks. England and Scotland. 

History of the progress and extension of the Mahometan power. France, to 
the death of Louis IX. German empire and Italian stales, from Charlemagne 
to the death of Frederick II. Norman dynasty in Italy. Spain, to the cxpul- 



.v. 

EDmBURGH liVSTITUTlOiV. 385 

sion of tlie Moors. England, to Edward I. Scotland, to Alexander III. Turks, 
crusades, and kingdom of Jerusalem. 

Occasional essays and regular exercises twice a week. 

Mathematical and Physical Geography. 

English Literature and Cojiposition. Read and analyzed Thompson's 
Seasons, Milton's Paradise Lost, Books 4th, 5th, and 6th. Chambers's English 
Literature. Paley's Natural Theology and Written Exercises. Original Essays. 

The greater extent of this programme is in proportion to the 
greater amount of time devoted to the EngUsh studies in this 
school than in the academy, especially in the lower classes, 
which are also those where the excess in time is the greatest. 
To be more minute — the courses of geography, history, higher 
English reading, and composition, do not difler materially in 
extent in the two schools, but the elementary course of gram- 
mar and reading of the institution, the frequent verbal analyses 
and etymological exercises, render its studies in this department 
much more complete than those of the academy ; indeed, they 
form the basis of a superstructure which must be imperfectly 
raised in the fifth class of the academy without them. From 
my own observation, I am sure that the ordinary Latin and 
Greek exercises are not a substitute for the etymological exer- 
cises introduced by Mr. Wood. The former exercises render 
the latter very easy, and give great advantages in a complete 
understanding of them, but the latter cannot be dispensed with, 
or left to the unaided ingenuity of the pupil to follow out. 
Experience proves that he requires to be directed in this valu- 
able application of ancient language; and in the extension 
given to this subject, the course at the institution had a supe- 
riority, in 183G, which it is possible it may not retain, since the 
English department of the academy has now been for several 
years under the charge of Mr. Wood. The mode of teaching 
history by conversational lectures, combined with the study of 
a text-book, and illustrated by maps, drawings, &c., used in the 
institution, is much to be preferred to the dryer method of the 
study of a text-book and recitation, employed at the academy. 
The frequent recurrence of the names of the same countries in 
the list of geographical exercises of the institution, is to be ex- 
plained by the mode of studying geography adopted, in which 
49 



386 GE\ERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

the particiifar countries are dwelt upon with various degrees of 
minuteness, in successive courses, according to the interest 
which may be supposed to attach to them ; the first lessons con- 
taining a general outline of the whole. 

It remains to be seen whether this superior development in 
the English studies is consistent with a due attention to other 
branches. Of these, the study of the ancient languages ranks 
next upon the programme. In the academy, these studies oc- 
cupy from fifteen to twenty hours per week, in the diflcrent 
classes, and in the institution, from ten to fifteen. The greatest 
disproportion is in the lower classes. Notwithstanding this, the 
programmes of the Latin studies in the five classes of the insti- 
tution are almost exactly the same with those of the first five 
of the academy: the books read and the amount of study in 
the several years being also nearly the same. But, then, in the 
academy there are two classes which have not their parallels 
in the institution, namely, the sixth and seventh; so that,, what- 
ever advantages are to be derived from the higher classical 
studies, must be reckoned against those of the institution in 
other courses. In this will be found the true difficulty of 
the estimate, for though I believe that with teachers of equal 
abilities the same progress will be made in fewer hours if the 
studies are not exclusively classical, yet this cannot be carried 
beyond a certain point, and we cannot have the advantages of 
ancient and modern languages, and of mathematical and phy- 
sical science, without extending the time for the course of edu- 
cation. Such is the experience of many classical teachers. 

In composing the courses in the modern languages, those of 
the institution appear to have decided advantages. There are 
two classes for the French in both the academy and institu- 
tion. In the former school four hours and a-half per week are 
allotted on the average, and in the latter five hours, to each of 
the courses. In the latter school there is also a class for the 
German language, to whicli three hours per week are devoted. 
There appears no where to be any variance of opinion as to 
the fact, that the modern languages are inferior, as means of 
intellectual training, to the ancient. They are, in fact, not mtro- 



EDINBURGH INSTITUTION. 387 

duced into the courses, mainly for this purpose. The object is, 
usually, to acquire a facility in reading them; the power of 
using them for conversation, and in writing, is further some- 
times aimed at, though the time allotted to them seldom allows 
the attainment of such a result. The methods of teaching 
them are, generally, and should always be, adapted to these ends, 
and hence essentially ditierent from those appropriate to the 
dead languages. All experience shows that the earlier they 
are attended to, the greater facility there is in their acquisi- 
tion, and they should, therefore, by no means be postponed 
longer than the period of secondary instruction; and, indeed, 
when it is practicable, there would, I believe, be great gain in 
beginning them in the elementary course. It should be remem- 
bered, that the reflecting faculties are naturally little developed 
in early youth, while the memory for words, as well as for things, 
is strong, and instruction at this period should be directed accord- 
ingly. It is true, that a knowledge of the ancient lends great aid 
to the study of the modern languages, but I am persuaded that 
the gain is not equivalent to the loss from postponement. If 
the object be to learn to speak a language as well as to read it, 
the flexibility of the organs of speech in early youth renders a 
beginning at that period almost essential to success. 

The courses of science are raised into high comparative im- 
portance in the institution. The attention paid to arithmetic 
is much greater than in the academy. In the first three classes 
of the former five hours per week, and of the latter but three, 
are devoted to this branch, so that in the higher classes the course 
of the academy falls decidedly behind that of the institution. If 
it were in the amount of progress only in which the academy 
was behind, I should make but little objection to it, for it seems 
to me that the higher branches of mathematics are better re- 
served for superior instruction, unless in special schools ; but, 
then, the amount of intellectual culture to be gained by the ex- 
ercises of arithmetic and algebra, appears to me to be under- 
valued. Arithmetical analysis, if not as important an intellec- 
tual habit as that of language, is by no means to be neglected, 
and, in addition to the ready use of figures, or the art of the 



388 GENERAL EDUCATIOPf, SECONDARY PERIOD. 

accountant, forms a most important part of education. Mental 
arithmetic I have already often remarked upon as a most useful 
branch, and I do not think the time devoted to tiiis, and to the 
practice of written arithmetic in the institution, at all too great. 
The course of geometry in the two schools is the same. The 
time spent in the study of trigonometry, and the applications 
to mensuration, &c., in the academy, is too small to secure any 
considerable progress. 

The course of mathematics in the institution is as follows : 

First Class of Arithmetic. The ground-rules and reduction. Compound 
addition, &c. 

Second Class. Simple and compoimd division. Proportions and fractions. 
Practical arithmetical exercises. (Ingram's Arithmetic,) practice. Decimal frac- 
tions. Compound proportions. 

Third Class. Compound rules. Reduction. Practice. Simple and compound 
proportions. Vulgar and decimal fractions. Interest. Equation of payments. 
Stocks. Loss and gain. 

Fourth Class. Cunningham's Arithmetic. Vulgar and decimal fractions. 
Practice. Proportions. Commission. Interest. Chain rule. Stocks. Loss and 
gain. Barter. Distributive proportion. Insurance and exchange. 

Fifth Class. Algebra. Primary rules. Simple equations. Problems. Alge- 
braic fractions. 

First Class of Geometry, In tlirec divisions. The highest, studies six books 
of Euclid's Elements, and the Appendix of Playfair. Mensuration and plane tri- 
gonometry from Davidson's Practical Mathematics. Hciglits and distances. Ex- 
amples and problems. 

Second Class of Geometry, Revise 5lh and Gth books of Euclid, Trigonometry, 
from Playfair's Appendix, Mensuration from Davidson. Simple and quadratic 
equations from the same. Wallace's Conic Sections, Mensuration of solids and 
specific gravities, from Davidson's Practical Mathematics. Spherical trigono- 
metry, Geogrnphical and astronomical problems. 

The higher mathematics, and even in a much greater 
amount tiian the one just stated, is indispensably necessary to 
a course intended for such occupations of practical life as those 
of the civil engineer, architect, or mechanician, but I doubt the 
importance of it in a general course, preparatory to a college or 
university. The advantages which a special professor, devoting 
all his energies, will have in the powers of communicating such 
instruction over a teacher who is occupied with many other 
thinffs in addition, is too obvious to need disrnssion. As an 



EDINBURGH INSTITUTION. 389 

instrument of general training, under these circumstances, the 
higher mathematics are, in my opinion, of inferior value to other 
branches. 

The courses of the elements of natural philosophy and of 
natural history in the institution are very appropriate. That 
of chemistry, as taught by -Dr. D. B. Reid, of Edinburgh, is one 
of the most useful and interesting exercises of the student. The 
professor assembles a class from the institution in his laboratory, 
places them at tables, with the materials for experiment before 
them, orders different experiments by the several groups into 
which the class is divided, receives their explanation of the 
operations in the hearing, and inspects the results of each 
within the view of the whole class, and thus exercises the per- 
ceptive and reflective faculties and mechanical skill of the stu- 
dent, and accustoms him to describe as well as to execute and 
observe.* When treated in this way, chemistry becomes 
highly worthy of a place in a general system of education. 
The plan is very similar to that in use at the La Martiniere 
school at Lyons, already described, though, very properly, the 
tendency here is more general than practical. Dr. Reid has 
many classes, besides this one of the institution, under a similar 
course of instruction. 

The morning of every Saturday is devoted in this school to 
rehgious instruction. The pupils are divided into four classes, 
the youngest of which read the Scriptures, and are examined 
upon them, and on Wood's Biography of the Old and New Tes- 
taments. The oldest class have lectures upon the Evidences of 
Christianity, and read the Scriptures, with explanations by the 
principal. 

In a general review of this comparison, it appears that the 
courses of the institution are more numerous, and all, except the 
classical course, cultivated to a greater extent than in the aca- 
demy. The deficiency in the latter appears chiefly due to the 

* All the experiments arc made upon a small scale, and, in general, with such 
common apparatus as slips and rods of glass, paper, &c. The chemical tests 
are used in very small quantities. Hence the expense of these lectures is quite 
trifling. 



390 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

considerable effort made to extend the instruction in mathe- 
matics into the higher branches, and to the introduction of 
two modern languages. The general arrangement of the 
courses in the institution resembles that of the gymnasia or 
grammar schools of northern and central Germany, but in the 
very points just stated, in reference to classics, mathematics, 
and the modern languages, differs from them. An appeal, 
therefore, to the results of those admirable schools induces me 
to prefer the restriction of these courses, for youth preparing 
for the professions, within the limits necessary to the full devel- 
opment of the classical course. At the same time, I consider 
that the importance given to the English exercises in the insti- 
tution, the general extension of the studies in the lower mathe- 
matics and in elementary science, all of which I believe to be 
compatible with the attention to the languages, are real advan- 
tages which may be claimed by the institution. 

GRAMMAR SCHOOL AT RUGBY. 

The grammar schools in England which have attained the 
highest distinction, are of the class which receive boarders. 
Of these the school at Rugby now stands among the first, from 
the character of its head master* and his associates. I have 
compiled, from my notes of information derived at Rugby, and 
from the account given in print by the principalf himself, a 

* The Rev. Dr. Arnold. I visited Rugby with letters, which produced much 
courtesy and frankness of intercourse, but found that custom — tiic law of the 
school — did not admit of the presence of a stranger at the recitations of the 
classes, or his visits to the rooms of the pupils while at study. This seemed to 
me so strange, after being admitted freely even to private schools, that I stated 
my wishes to the Rev. Head Master, and understood distinctly from him that he 
had never heard of such a thing as the presence of a visitor during the recita- 
tion of an English grammar school. Mr. Bowning Price, one of the masters to 
whom I was addressed, received me with much hospitality, and very kindly gave 
mc the information which I asked, but even in his house etiquette did not per- 
mit him to introduce me into the study-rooms of his pupils. 

I had occasion to verify Dr. Arnold's remark, in the case of two other gram- 
mar schools into which I endeavoured, without success, to obtain admission; at 
Christ's Hospital, however, which ranks with the public grammar schools, I was 
freely admitted to all parts of the institution, as has already been stated. 

t Rugby School. Quarterly Journal of Education, vol. vii. London, 1834, 



RUGBY GRAMMAR SCHOOL. 391 

sketch of the education received at this school, considering 
that the authentic nature of the materials authorized me so to 
do, though I can say little from personal observation as to the 
results of the system. 

Purpose of the school, general governjnent, S^c. The school is 
intended for preparing students for the universities. It receives 
pupils of two different classes; the one called "foundationers" 
must be children of parents who have resided for two years in 
Rugby, or in certain parts of the adjacent country. These are 
educated gratuitously, and their number is not limited. They 
may enter at the age of seven, though eleven is considered a 
more suitable period. The others pay for their education, and 
are limited to two hundred and sixty in number.* In case the 
parent of a foundationer does not Hve in the town of Rugby, 
the pupil must board with one of the masters, and is thus on the 
same footing as the other students. 

The buildings containing the dwelling of the head master, 
the chapel, library, recitation rooms, &c., are in the Eliza- 
bethan Gothic style, very prettily arranged, and have an exten- 
sive common or play-ground at the back of them. The other 
masters provide their own dwellings, which are in different 
quarters of the town. 

The school is governed by a body of trustees, who hold 
annual meetings at Rugby, but who may be summoned to spe- 
cial meetings, when required, at other places. In general their 
authority is delegated to the head master, who is elected by 
them, and the few laws enacted for the government of the 
institution are contained in the act of incorporation. The 
assistant masters serve as a council to the head master, by 
■whom they are appointed, and besides holding regular meet- 
ings once a week, for the discussion of the affairs of their 
classes, may be convened at the pleasure of the head master. 

Moral education. This is supposed to centre in the head mas- 
ter, upon whose character its success essentially depends, and 



* Tlie masters have, besides, establislied a scliolarship, by subscription anions 
themselves, of j£25 per annum, which may be held for six years. 



392 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

who is the pastor as well as teacher and governor. He has 
charge of the instruction of the highest class, called the sixth 
form, and from the important part which they play in the dis- 
cipline of the school, has in this a high responsibility. The 
other masters are charged with maintaining order in their seve- 
ral rooms, but the head master alone has the authority to 
sanction corporal chastisement. He can suspend or dismiss a 
bad student, and corresponds frequently with the parents, that 
their influence may be brought in aid of his. When necessary, 
he advises the withdrawal of a pupil, but usually, when dismis- 
sion is required, or in cases of difficult investigation, calls in 
the board of masters as council. It was stated to me that the 
system of "rights and privileges" of the pupils prevailed to a 
very injurious extent at this school, before the present adminis- 
tration, but by a calm, temperate, and free use of authority, 
the features considered most objectionable have been done 
away. The fact exemplifies the theory of the influence of the 
head master as the moral centre of the school. 

The several masters take boarders, the number being only 
restricted by the accommodations of the houses. Some of the 
pupils have separate sleeping and study rooms, others room 
together. 

The most striking peculiarity of the discipline of the institu- 
tion is to be found out of school hours, when the main body of 
the pupils are freed from the direct control of the masters. The 
whole of the pupils residing in one house are then under the 
charge of the boys of the sixth form, or highest class, living with 
them, and are subject to their control during both play and study 
hours. These members of the sixth form, called at Rugby 
preposters (propositi viri), are required to regulate the rising, 
attendance on prayers, meals, and recitations of those under 
them ; to preserve order, and to prevent absence or visiting 
during study hours ; to aid the younger members in their studies, 
and to afford them good counsel and example. To enable the 
preposters to preserve their authority, they arc invested with the 
right to punish, by setting tasks, by confining to the study rooiiij 



RUGBY GRAMMAR SCHOOL. 393 

and otherwise cutting off' privileges. Besides this, they assume 
the right to chastise corporally, and have, by usage, many 
privileges not conferred by the regulations of the school, and 
which give them great power over the comfort and welfare of 
the junior pupils.* 

This is the system known as " fagging" at Eton and West- 
minster, and though I was informed that it does not bear this 
name at Rugby, even among the pupils themselves, yet it is 
essentially the same in its rules, if not in its practices. 

Though the " preposters have privileges by rule, they are 
yet subject to punishments from the masters, w^hich are, how- 
ever, usually of a different grade from those of the junior pu- 
pils, to mark their station even in the results of deviation from 
duty. These pupils are not selected for their office, but acquire 
it by right of seniority, every member of the sixth form, or 
highest class, being a preposter. When it happens that too few 
of this form live with a particular master, or that those who 
reside with him are young, then transfers may be made from 
among those living with others, to secure the better action of 
the system. The fifth form are exempt from the control of the 
sixth, but have themselves no charge of discipline. 

The spirit awakened by the head master in the pupils com- 
posing the sixth form, must, as before remarked, determine the 
character of this system of education, the master in whose 
house the pupils reside giving them up almost entirely to this 
artificial arrangement. There is a porter, who has, among 
other duties, that of preventing disorder, but he appeals for 
support to the preposters, and only in ffagrant cases to the 
master, who thus steps in merely as a last resort, and is not the 
constant guardian of the youth nominally under his charge. 
The teachers who approve of this system lay it down as a prin- 
ciple, that the pupil must be superintended cither by preposters, 

* Among these usurped rights, the consequence of tlie law of the strongest, 
are the sending of their juniors upon errands, and iinposing certain disagreeable 
duties upon them in tlicir games. One of these latter, of which there are many, 
was found so injurious, tliat it was stopped by authority : it was obliging the 
lesser boys to leap the line at leap-frog, instead of the preposter, I mention it 
to show the character which this tyranny assumes. 
50 



394 GKNERAL EDUCATION. SECO.\DARY PERIOD. 

or by ushers, and that all experience has shown the inefficiency 
of the latter mode of government. These methods, however, ap- 
pear to me to form two extremes, neither of which is good. If 
the selection of the preposters was made on account of peculiar 
fitness for their office, the theory of this form of school govern- 
ment might be plausible; if they were required to act according 
to rules emanating from the masters, and deprived of their pre- 
sent usurped authority, the system would be less objectionable ; 
and if, in addition, they w^ere controlled by the active and con- 
stant superintendence of the masters, we should then have the 
enlightened system which is substituted for that of fagging in 
many of the best boarding-schools of Germany ; without such 
changes the theory and practice cannot accord. It is ad- 
mitted, even by those who uphold it, to be readily liable to great 
abuse, and to foster the dangerous spirit of the love of power. 
I am persuaded it never could have been suffered to exist as a 
system, in the schools of our country, and that it cannot con- 
tinue under the reforms which must gradually be introduced 
into those of England. Enlightened masters, intrusted by 
parents with the care and guidance of youth, cannot always 
be blinded by custom to the true nature of their responsibilities, 
or willing to transfer them to those who are neither fitted by 
age nor by habit for the important charge. 

The care of the pupils on Sunday is principally with the mas- 
ters with whom they board, and morning prayers are said at 
the house before going to church. Some masters encourage 
the pupils to visit in their families, and hold religious lectures 
on Sunday, after the public duties of the day are over. At 
Rugby the attendance of the elder pupils on the communion is 
not made a matter of rule, but in general the sixth form, and 
many of the fifth, are communicants of the church. The younger 
pupils are not encouraged to come forward. 

Pecuniary allowances are distributed regularly by the mas- 
ters, who feel bound to check extravagances, when known to 
them, by correspondence with the parents. 

The following is the order of the day in the boarding houses, 
varying somewhat with the season: — The pupils rise at six and 



. RUGBY GRAMMAR SCHOOL. 395 

a-half, and go to prayers in the school at seven ; breakfast at 
eight, dine at one, take tea at seven, and must be in the house 
in winter at a quarter before eight, the time varying with the 
season ; have evening prayers in the boarding-house at eight 
o'clock, retire at a quarter before ten, and the lights must be 
out on the porter's visit at ten o'clock. 

On half-holidays there is a roll called at three and five, 
P. M., to prevent the pupils from going too far beyond the 
school bounds. On Sundays they rise at half past eight, and 
attend prayers in the houses. 

Intellectual education. So far as this is connected with the 
arrangements for study in the boarding-houses, it has been 
already described. For purposes of instruction, the whole num- 
ber of pupils, about three hundred, is divided into eight classes 
or forms, each of which is instructed by one of the assistant 
masters,* or bv the head master. These classes are desio-nated 
as first, second, and third form, lower remove, fourth form, 
upper remove, fifth and sixth form ; the object of this nomen- 
clature being to preserve, for the highest or eighth class, the 
name of sixth form, which has long been applied to it in the 
English grammar schools ;f a fact which may serve to illustrate 
the tenacity with which old customs are adhered to in these 
institutions. The pupils remain, in general, longer than a year 
in each class. The subjects of study are divided into three de- 
partments, that of classical literature, arithmetic and mathe- 
matics, and French. The members of all the classes below 
the sixth form are distributed in these three departments, ac- 
cording to their proficiency in each, the same pupils being thus 
usually not in the same form in all : but in the sixth form the 
same individuals are associated in all the departments, so that 
on reaching the sixth form in classical literature, the pupil 
passes at once to the same division in all the studies. This 
arrangement would be nearly impracticable if the mathematical 
and French departments were considered of high importance. 

* Each of the assistant masters receives a salary and perquisites of £200, and 
his income from various sources rises 1o about 2500 dollars. 
t The " mairir name of sixth form." 



396 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

Each master teaches in the three departments, though he may 
not instruct the same form in each. It is obvious, from this 
plan, that very moderate attainments are possible in the aux- 
iliary branches, the classical department being the one upon 
which the strength of the school is exerted. This, in fact, essen- 
tially gives rank to the pupils while at the institution, and on 
entering the university. The system of special masters for the 
subsidiary departments was tried some years since, but failed, 
from causes which I did not exactly understand. 

Each half year is divided into two equal periods, called 
"language time," and "history time." The books read in these 
two periods vary in several instances, the poets and orators 
being read principally during the former, and history and 
geography being chiefly studied during the latter. This will 
be more clearly seen from the following table of the general 
occupation of the school for a whole year.* It does not include, 
however, the exercises in Greek and Latin prose and verse 
which are required. 

FIRST FORM. 

Classical division. Language time, Latin grammar and Latin delectus. 
History time, Markham's England, vol. i. Scriptural instruction, ^c. Church 
catechism and abridgment of New Testament History. 

Mathematical division-. Tables. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and 
division, simple and compound. Reduction. 

French division. Hamel's Exercises, up to the auxiliary verbs. 

SECOND FORM. 

Classical division. Language time, Latin grammar and Latin Delectus 
Eutropius, History time. Markham's England, vol. ii. Scriptural instruction, 
Sfc. St. Luke. Genesis. 

Mathematical division. The work done in the first form repeated. Rule 
of three. Practice. 

French division. Hamel's Exercises. Auxiliary verbs. Regular conjuga- 
tions and some of the irregular. Gaulticr's Geography. 

THIRD FORM. 

Classical division. Language time. Greek grammar (Matthias, Abridg- 
ment). Valpy's Greek Exercises. Valpy's Greek Delectus. Florilegium. 
Translations into Latin. History time. Eutropius. Physical geography. 

* Journal of Education, vol. vii., p. 235, &,c. The article is understood to be 
an authorized publication, and from the pen of the Rev. Dr. Arnold. 



RUGBY GRAMMAR SCHOOL. 397 

(Useful Knowledge Society.) Scrijitural instruciioii, Sfc. Exodus. Numbers. 
Judges, i. and ii. Samuel. St. Matthew. 

Mathematical diyisign. Rule of three. Practice. Vulgar fractions. In- 
terest. 

French bitision. Hamel's Exercises, first part, continued. Irregular verbs. 
Elizabetli, ou les Exiles en Siberie. 

xoweh remove. 

Classical divisiok. Language time. Greek grammar and Valpy's Exer- 
cises. Rules of the Greek Iambics. Easy parts of the Iambics of the Greek tra- 
gedians. Virgil's Eclogues. Cicero de Senectute. History time. Parts of 
Justin. Parts of Xenophon's Anabasis. Markham's France, to Philip of Valois. 
Scriptural instruction, ^-c. St. Rlatthew, in Greek Testament. Acts, in the Eng- 
lish Bible. 

Mathematical division. Vulgar fri.ctions. Interest. Decimal fractions. 
Square root. 

French division. Hamel continued and repeated. Jussieu's Jardin dcs 
Plantes. 

FOURTH FORM. 

Classical division. Language time. jEschylus, Prometh. Virgil, ^n. ii. 
and iii. Cicero de Amicitia,. History time. Part of Xenophon's Hellenics. 
Florus from iii. 21 to iv. 11. History of Greece. (U. K. S.) Markham's 
France, from Philip of Valois. Detailed geography of Italy and Germany. Scrip- 
tural instruction, Sfc. Acts, in the Greek Testament. St. John, in the English 
Bible. Old Testament History. 

Mathematical division. Decimals. Involution and evolution. Addition, 
subtraction, multiplication, and division of algebra. Binomial theorem. Euclid, 
Book i.. Prop. 1 to 15. 

French division. Hamel's Second Part, chiefly syntax of the pronouns. 
La Fontaine's Fables. 

UPPER REMOVE. 

Classical division. Language time. Sophocles' Philoct. JEschyl. Eume- 
nid. Homer's Iliad, i., ii. Virgil Mn., iv., v. Parts of Horace, Odes i., ii., iii. 
Parts of Cicero's Epistles. History time. Parts of Arrian. Parts of Paterculus, 
Book ii. Sir J. Mackintosh's England. Scriptural instruction. St. John, in 
Greek Testament. Deuteronomy and Epistle of St. Peter. Selections from the 
Psalms. 

Mathematical division. Equation of payments. Discount. Simple equa- 
tions. Euclid, Book i., from 15 to end. 

French division. Translation from English into French. La Fontaine's 
Fables. 

LOWER FIFTH. 

Classical division. Language time, ^sciiyl. Sept. Contra Thebas. So- 
phoclcs, ffid. Tyr. Homer's Iliad, iii., iv. Virgil's ^Eneid, vi., vii. Extracts from 
Cicero's Epistles. Parts of Horace. History time. Parts of Arrian. Hero- 



398 GENERAL EDTTCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

dotus, iii., 1, 38, 61, 67, 88, 116. I.ivy, parts of ii. and iii. Halkm's Middle 
Ages. France, Spain, Greeks, and Saracens. Physical and political geography 
of all Europe. Scriptural instruction. St. John. Epistles to Timothy and 
Titus. Bible history, from 1 Kings to Nehemiah, inclusive. 

Mathematical divisioiv. Exchange. Alligation. Simple equations with 
two unknown qualities, and problems. Euclid, Book iii. 

French division. Syntax and idioms. A play of Molidre, to construe, and 
then to turn from English into French. 

FIFTH FOHM. 

Classical Bivisioif. Language ti7ne. jEschyl. Agamemnon. Homcr'a 
Iliad, v., vi.; Odyssey, ix. Demosthenes' Leptines in Aphobum i. Virgil's 
Mn. viii. Parts of Horace. Cicero in Verrem. History time. Parts of Hero- 
dotus and Thuc3'dides. Parts of Livy. Hallam's Middle Ages. State of society. 
Scriptural instruction, S(c. Epistles to the Corinthians. Paley's Horse Paulinae. 

Mathematical division. Quadratic equations. Trigonometry. Euclid, to 
the end of Book vi. 

French division. Pensees dc Pascal. Translations from the Englisli into 
French. 

SIXTH Fonnr. 

Classical division. Laiiguage time. Various parts of Virgil and Homer. 
Some one or more of the Greek tragedies. One or more of the private orations 
of Demosthenes. Cicero against Verres. Parts of Aristotle's Ethics. History 
lime. Parts of Thucydides and Arrian. Parts of Tacitus. Parts of Russell's 
Modern Europe. Scriptural instruction, Sfc. One of the prophets in the Sep- 
tuagint version. Different parts of the New Testament. 

Mathematical division. Euclid, iii., vi. Simple and quadratic equations. 
Plane trigonometry. Conic sections. 

French division. Parts of Guizot's Histoirc de la Revolution d'Anglcterro, 
and Mignet's Histoire de la Revolut. Fran§ais. 

A comparison of this course with that of one of the grammar 
schools still adhering closely to the old system, will serve to 
show how far it is in advance; I select an authorized account 
of the courses at Harrow for the comparison.* 

third form. 

Evangelia. Ovid's Epistles. Selecta c profanis. Greek grammar. Excmpla 
Minora. Two sets of Latin verses and one E.\-cmpla Minora, during each week, 
as exercises. Monita Christiana. IJartlcy's Gcograpliy. Scriptures read on 
Sundays, 

♦" Qnnrlorlv Journ.il of Ediiradon, vol. iii. p. 4, &r, Tondon, 



HARROW GRAMMAR SCHOOL. 399 



FOtrRTH FORM. 

Repetition of Ovid's Epistles. Ovid's Metamorphoses. Excerpta from Virgil 
and Horace. Turselini Hist. Caesar and Monita Christiana. 

Repetition of Greek grammar. Greek Testament. Poesis Graeca. Two 
copies of Latin verses and one translation from the Praxis of Dr. Butler, per 
week, as exercises. 

A map to be copied and shaded, as a weekly exercise in geography. St. Mat- 
thew's and St. Mark's gospels. Wake's Catechism, with Scripture proofs, for 
Sundays. 

SHELL FOIlWr. 

Historia Romana. Cornelius Nepos. Virgil's iEneid. Horace's Odes, Epis- 
tles, or Satires. Latin theme. Latin lyrics. Latin hexameters or elegiacs. Greek 
Testament. Musa Graeca. Xenophon's Anabasis. Retranslation of Xenophon 
into Greek. Homer's Iliad. Repetition of Greek and Latin verse. Geography. 
St. Luke's and St. John's gospels. Watts' Scripture History. Doddridge's Ser- 
mons on the Evidences of Christianity, for Sundays. 

FIFTH Fonir. 

Historia Romana. Virgil's JEneid and Georgics, the latter in the way of lec- 
ture, and with repetition. Horace's Odes, construed, explained, and comments 
entered in common place book. Repetition of Horace's Odes. Horace's Epis- 
tles and Satires. Latin theme. Latin verse, hexameter or elegiac (thirty, the com- 
pulsory number per week). Latin lyrics. Musa Grasca. Homer's Iliad. Thucydi- 
des. Demosthenes. Philosophia GiEcca. Greek plays, and lectures on the Metres 
and Greek theatre. Grecian history and chronology. Ancient geography. 
Modern geography. Lecture on literature. 

Acts of the Apostles. Palcy's Evidences. Watt's Scripture Geography, for 
Sundays. 

SIXTH FORM. 

Virgil's jEneid. Horace's Odes, Epistles, and Satires. Historia Romana. 
Latin themes. Written translations. Latin lyrics. Latin hexameter and pen- 
tameter verses. 

Parts of the Gospels and Acts. Musa Grseca. Homer's Iliad. Thucydides. 
Demosthenes. Philosophia Graeca. Greek plays. Greek prose exercises and 
verses, 

Greek history. Modern history. English essays. 

Beausobre on the New Testament. General Scripture history. Euclid. Vul- 
gar and decimal fractions. Logic. 

New Testament. Newton on the Prophecies. Lectures on the Articles of the 
Church of England, with Scripture proofs, for Sundays. 

Admitting that by the arrangements at Rugby the mathe- 
matical and French divisions will be, in general, imperfectly 
taught, which does not seem to be liable to a doubt in theory, 



\ 



400 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

and which the fact is said to confirm, how vastly superior is 
its mere classical division to that which occupies the time of 
the Harrow student. In that division the ancient languages, 
leaving out of consideration the modern history, and reasoning 
upon the acquisition of these studies for themselves, are as fully 
taught, and with materials which appear to me more rational, 
connected, and better chosen than those of Harrow.* If no 
literature existed beyond that of Greece and Rome; if no dis- 
coveries in mathematics or physics, in art or nature; if no na- 
tions had, by the advance of civilization, come into greater 
relative importance than in the days of Rome's prosperity, the 
course of Harrow might be well adapted to train up British 
youths of the provinces in the learning of the capital. As it is, 
the exclusion of all, or nearly all, that characterises modern 
civilization, brings discredit upon the system, and the worst 
foes of the leG;itimate use of classical culture are those who 
profess to be its best friends. The success which the pupils of 
Rugby have had in the universities, the standard by which all 
the public schools in England are tried, proves conclusively 
that it has lost nothing on the score of classical instruction by 
introducing some modern improvements into its course. The 
success, in the same field, of the Edinburgh Academy, which 
has also adopted, and actually gone further in these improve- 
ments, shows that an efficient arrangement may carry out the 
modern courses without interrupting the progress of the ancient 
languages. When we come to consider the gymnasia of Ger- 
many, we shall have additional examples of the same kind, 
embracing a still further extension of modern branches, with- 
out injury to the classical departments. This grade of progress 
in England, and even in Scotland, has yet been too recent to 
afford the desired experience as to its results. 

The masters at Rugby are at liberty to give private instruc- 
tion in any branches not forming a part of the regular course, 
but in fact have few private pupils. The practice of giving 
private lessons of revision of the daily exercises, or of prepara- 



* I subjoin in the Appendix, No. XII., the remarks understood to be from the 
pen of Dr. Arnold, on the Use and Method of tlic Study of the Ancient Languages. 



I 



RUGBY GRAMMAR SCHOOL. 40l 

tion for them, is not allowed here, while at Harrow each pupil 
is required to have a private tutor. 

The stimulus of taking places in the class is used in all the 
forms below the sixth; the classes below the lower fifth taking 
places according to proficiency at each recitation. There is a 
general examination before the Christmas holidays, and the 
names of the pupils who distinguish themselves are printed. The 
students have the privilege of presenting themselves for exami- 
nation on books which they have read out of school, and this 
reading counts in the determination of standing. The fifth and 
sixth forms are examined by the head master in classics once 
a month, and at the June examination of the fifth form they 
are rated according to the marks of the last half year. The 
sixth form is limited in number, and hence only those in some 
degree proficients in the fifth, enter it. A pupil who has 
not reached the fifth form at eighteen, or the sixth at nineteen, 
is generally allowed to withdraw. The members of the 
sixth form are not stimulated by daily comparison with each 
other, and indeed Dr. Arnold is understood to be very cautious 
in exciting the principle of ambition. There are, however, 
prizes, consisting of payments called "exhibitions," of sixty 
pounds (nearly three hundred dollars) a-year for seven years, 
which may be awarded to pupils entering and residing at either 
of the universities of Oxford or Cambridge. Of those who leave 
Rugby for the English universities, by far the greater number, 
perhaps nearly two to one, go to Oxford, indicating by this 
selection that they are conscious of full attainment in classical 
knowledge. The pupils remain ordinarily in the sixth form two 
years, their age at terminating the course being eighteen or 
nineteen, on the average. 

The regular lessons of the school employ five hours and 
a-half per day on three days of the week, and four hours and 
a-half on three others, which are half-holidays. They are dis- 
tributed as follows: from seven to eight, A. M., nine and 
a-quarter to eleven, two and a-quarter to five, P. M., on three 
days; and the same hours between seven and eleven, A. M., 
with from eleven, A. M. to one, P. M., on three other days. 
.51 



402 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

The distribution of time for recreation seems to me better than 
that at Harrow, where the wliole of Tuesday is a iioliday, and 
Thursday and Saturday half-holidays. 

Physical education. This branch, though not specially regu- 
lated in the English schools, is usually in an excellent condition. 
There is always a spacious play-ground or common attached 
to every public school of this grade, and the relish which pupils 
display for games requiring skill and strength, and giving exer- 
cise to the various parts of the body, is very great. I have 
already alluded to the common or play-ground at Rugby. The 
amusements are, in general, never interfered with, the pupils 
being without superintendence, an attempt at which would 
be resented as an infringement of privilege. In many private 
schools it has been thought better that the teachers should be 
present, and in some they even mingle with the pupils at play; 
but the relative position of the master and pupil in most of the 
public schools does not permit this mode of combining moral 
with physical education. Tiie whole tone of mind of a pupil 
of an English public school is, in this respect, peculiar, and the 
effect, in reference to conduct, has its good and evil features. 
A spirit of independence is fostered, but frequently at the cost 
of neglect of moral principle. 

ST. DOMINGO-HOUSE SCHOOL, EVERTON, NEAR LIVERPOOL. 

In visiting private establishments for education, my inquiries 
were necessarily limited by the disposition shown to fur- 
nish me with information. It frequently happened, however, 
that every thing was thrown open without reserve, and every 
endeavour shown to enable me to judge for myself of the results 
of the system. Such opportunities I enjoyed* through the kind- 
ness of the heads of the private schools of which I am about to 
giv^e a sketch. 

Mr. Voelcker's institution is established in a large mansion, 
called the St. Domingo-house, in the village of Everton, near 
the city of Liverpook The situation is elevated, the house con- 
venient, and the grounds ample for the purposes of the estab- 
lishment. It consists, in fact, of two schools in different 



ST. DOMIJf GO-HOUSE SCHOOL. 403 

buildings, one a day-school, the other, of which I speak, a 
boarding-school. The institution is intended for the threefold 
purpose of preparing young men for the universities, for the 
army, navy, and engineering, and for trade. At a certain pe- 
riod the courses divide according to the future destination of 
the pupils. 

The views of Mr. Voelcker in education are understood to 
coincide with those of many of the most intelligent of the dis- 
ciples of Pestalozzi. His plans are very different from those 
of the grammar schools which have just been noticed, and, 
therefore, afford experience in reference to points not reached 
by them. These points are principally the following, the inter- 
course and relation between the teachers and pupils, and be- 
tween the pupils themselves, both affecting the ground-work of 
- moral education : the result of postponing the study of the 
ancient languages, and of preceding them by the study of mo- 
dern languages; of introducing a knowledge of nature and art 
throughout the course; and of dispensing with emulation as a 
means of exciting to intellectual exertion. 

Moral education. Besides the means of religious instruction 
commonly used for developing the moral sentiments, there is here 
a constant endeavour to promote the influence of the teacher, 
by cultivating friendly feelings and intercourse between him 
and his pupils. The younger classes have female superinten- 
dence. The elder ones are accompanied in their play, and 
superintended in their studies, by the younger assistant teachers. 
The principal and some of the teachers take their meals with 
the pupils, partaking at the same table of the same fare. Some 
of the assistant teachers, also, sleep in the rooms with the 
pupils, and thus, as in the German schools, exercise a powerful 
influence in reference to their moral education. Experience, 
here and elsewhere, has shown that this intercourse is compati- 
ble with a due maintenance of discipline, and that it tends 
materially to lessen the necessity for punishments. The princi- 
pal makes, from time to time, a communication to parents, in 
which he states the progress and conduct of their children. 
The school is assembled at the close of the morning and after- 



404 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

noon recitations, and a report made to the principal by each 
teaclier. Private admonition is given, if required by the nature 
of the report, and frequent offences are followed by an appeal 
to the parents, and if this fails to produce the desired effect, or 
in the case of flagrant offences, by removal from the school. 
Corporal punishment is rarely resorted to. 

Intellectual education. The pupils are divided into six 
classes, in general according to age. Each class contains 
from eight to thirteen or even fifteen pupils, under the charge 
of a teacher, who devotes himself to some particular branch 
or branches. The teaching is, therefore, individual, except in 
certain subjects, as drawing, natural philosophy, and chemistry, 
when two or three classes are united. The lessons are pre- 
pared under the direction, and, if necessary, with the assistance 
of the masters. 

The following is a general statement of the studies of the 
different classes on which I shall remark in passing ; 

First Class. Age of the pupils from six to eight years. Religion. Duties 
to God, to parents and teachers, to fellow pupils. Views of man and nature, and 
of their author. Suitable verses from the Bible and hymns committed to memory. 
Exercises of the perceptive faculties. Properties of different natural and artificial 
bodies derived from induction, by the pupils. Language. Correct speech and 
pronunciation, connected with the foregoing exercises. Practical grammar. 
Reading. Mental arithmetic. Numeration and the ground rules taught with 
sensible objects. Examples in denominate, or concrete, numbers only. Writing. 
Letters formed. Significant words, from the foregoing exercises, written. Form 
and drawing. Tracing of straight and curved lines, variously directed and 
combined. Simple objects delineated. The number of hours of instruction ia 
about five per day. 

The pupils of this class being quite young, their power of 
continued attention is small, and hence the subjects of recita- 
tion are frequently varied, and the hours are divided by intervals 
of exercise. I had an opportunity of verifying the good effects 
of this judicious arrangement. The variety of subject which 
pleases the child of this age, induces due mental effort, and con- 
tributes to lead to a habit of attention, which is to be cultivated 
by gradual steps in the after classes. I saw no experience, 
anv where, which indicated that to render instruction disagree- 



ST. DOMINGO-HOUSE SCHOOL. 405 

able, to overfatigue the mind of the child, and his body, were 
successful methods of developing either, or to support the idea 
that the education of young children may be marred by ren- 
dering their instruction too agreeable. 

Second Class. Eig-lit to ten years of age. Religion. Bible history. Lan- 
guage. English grammar. Historical compositions. Geography. General ideas 
of physical geography. History. Stories from general history, and from the 
History of England. Arithmetic. Mental arithmetic, the ground rules, with con- 
crete, abstract, and compound numbers. Fractions. Use of figures, and appli- 
cation to foregoing rules. Forms, Ideas of geometrical figures. Natural History. 
Animals. Writing. Sentences relating to the subjects of study. Drawing. 
Chiefly from real objects. 

Third Class. Ten to twelve years of age. Religion. Historical parts of the 
Bible, chiefly from the New Testament. Language. 1. English composition, 
historical and descriptive; correct reading. 2. French. 3. German. Etymology, 
and forms of the simple sentences, acquisition of words and phrases. Geography. 
Europe and Great Britain more in detail. History. Connected English history. 
Arithmetic. Decimals, square root, proportions, fellowship, interest, &c. Geome- 
try. Plane figures. Natural Philosophy. Inductive exercises. General proper- 
ties of bodies. Mechanics. Writing and Drawing, as in the second class. 

The peculiarity before mentioned, of beginning with the 
foreign modern languages, instead of the ancient, is here intro- 
duced. The English is supposed to be the language of com- 
parison, and the French and German are taught early, for the 
sake of accurate pronunciation, and of acquiring a facility in 
their use in conversation. I have before offered some remarks 
on this subject in speaking of the Hill-street Institution, in 
Edinburgh. As many of the teachers in this school are 
foreigners, who speak English with difficulty, the pupils are 
induced the more readily to converse with them in their own 
language. 

FouHTH Class. Twelve to fourteen years of age. Religion. Reading the 
Scriptures. General views of the Christian religion. Language. 1. English 
composition. 2. French and German, continued. Committing to memory pas- 
sages of prose and verse. 3. Latin begun. Etymology and simple parts of 
syntax. Versions from English into Latin. Cornelius Nepos. Geography. Ge- 
neral political and statistical geography. History. Ancient history ; history of 
the middle ages. AritJimeiic and algebra. Cube root. Proportions and loga- 
rithms. Algebra, to quadratic equations, inclusive. Gei)metry. Solids. Trigono- 



406 GENERAL EDUCATIOIV. SRCOXDARY PERIOD. 

metry. Natural Philosophy. Elements of Astronomy. Mathematical and phy- 
sical geography. Drawing. From models. Copying drawings of landscapes 
and the human figure. 

In the French, the black-board is used by the pupils in writ- 
ing from dictation, or in turning English into French. Another 
useful method is the preparation of written exercises from a 
book, in which but few of the French words are given below 
the English. These exercises are afterwards translated, viva 
voce, into English, and then the French is read correctly from 
the book. In German, pieces committed to memory are writ- 
ten out to acquire the spelling. 

The natural philosophy lessons are given in conversational 
lectures, interspersed with questions, to ascertain the state of 
the pupil's knowledge. The class take notes, which are written 
out subsequently in full, and presented at the next recitation for 
correction. 

In the drawing class a very useful exercise is introduced, 
consisting in copying drawings upon a different scale from the 
original Latin is begun in this class. 

Fifth Class. Fourteen to sixteen years of age. Religion. Reading the Scrip- 
tures. Morals of Christianity compared with those of paganism. Language. 
1. English composition and literature. 2. French and German exercises and 
composition. Committing selected pieces to memory. 3. Latin. Cornelius 
Nepos, finished. Ovid. History. Modern history. Natural Philosophy. Ele- 
ments of hydrostatics, &c. Heat, &c. Optics. Electricity. Galvanism and 
magnetism. Chemistry. 

The branches just enumerated are common to all divisions 
of the class, but here a separation takes place, according to 
the destination of the pupils in after life. 

For the first division, or those preparing for the university, 
the following studies are added: 

Latin. Translations from English into Latin. Cicero and Livy read. Greek. 
Etymological parts of the granmiar. Greek delectus. Xenophon. 

For the second division, intended for the military or naval 
schools, the following courses are added: 

Spherical trigonometry. Land surveying. Navigation. Mechanics. Tech- 
nology and geometrical drawing. 



ST. DOMINGO- HOUSE SCHOOL. 407 

For the third division, or those preparing for commerce: 

Practical arithmetic. Book-keeping'. History and g-eography of commerce, 
and a knowledge of the chief articles of trade and commerce. 

The chemistry is taught according to the method ■already- 
described as used by Dr. D. B. Reid, of Edinburgh. It is diffi- 
cult to. introduce a similar system in regard to mechanics, but 
it has been done, partially, as already stated, at the La Mar- 
tiniere school of Lyons. 

The instruction in regard to the articles of trade and com- 
merce is accompanied by a kind of practical exercise in the 
system of banking, in the different operations of trade, in the 
mode of keeping books, &c., the members of the class being 
converted into an imaginary community, carrying on supposed 
operations of this kind under the direction of the teacher. To 
conduct these exercises properly, requires considerable skill, as 
well as knowledge, but I was much pleased to see that sound 
instruction was actually communicated, and the details of 
business, with their general theory, were thus impressed ni a 
way not easily to be forgotten. 

Sixth Class. Sixteen to eighteen years of age. This class is only intended 
for those preparing for the university. 

Language. English, French and German composition. Extracts from classical 
authors. Latin prosody and versification. Translations into Greek, continued. 
Xenophon, Plato, Herodotus, TJiucydides, Homer, Euripides and /Eschylus. Gea- 
graphy. Ancient Geography. Mental Fldlosophy, Mathematics. First six books 
of Euclid, in Latin. 

The propriety of postponing Latin until the age of thirteen, 
the average of the fourth class, is a question which experience 
alone can determine positively. In the case of those who are 
to go to the universities, where their success depends in a great 
measure upon their being thoroughly trained classical scholars, 
I must express my conviction that the period between the fourth 
class and the end of the sixth is not sufficient, with the many 
other subjects to be attended to, to enable youths of ordinary 
abilities to compete successfully with those who begin earlier, 
and devote more of their time to the classics. In the present 
state of secondary instruction in England, the classics must be 



408 GENERAL EDUCATIOIV. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

the prominent feature of every school which prepares pupils for 
the universities. That there is, also, ample time to devote to 
other studies, I think experience has shown, and I believe, fur- 
ther, that the mental training derived from the combined sys- 
tem is superior to that from the exclusively classical, but not 
that modern languages and science can be made the basis, and 
the ancient languages supplementary, consistently with such an 
acquisition of the latter as to enable the student to compete for 
stations depending upon them with those who have been drilled 
in them from early youth. On the other hand, I must express, 
with equal freedom, my opinion that, as a preparation for en- 
gineering, the army, navy, commerce, or trade, or for the 
general purposes of life, there cannot be a reasonable doubt 
whether a student should devote his youth to the ancient lan- 
guages, as at Harrow, or to the more general course of study,- 
as in the school under consideration. The sources of usefulness 
and enjoyment opened by the latter course would, in my opi- 
nion, far surpass those presented by the former. 

The principle of emulation is not admitted, by Mr. Voelcker, 
as one upon which the training of youth should depend, and, 
accordingly, there is neither taking of places in the recitations, 
nor giving of rank at examinations. It would require a more 
minute inspection of the system than I was able to give it, to 
come to a definitive conclusion as to the results of excluding 
emulation, but I could not avoid the impression that the classes 
would, in many cases, have been more lively, had emulation 
been employed. While it may be freely admitted, in a moral 
point of view, that a desire of distinction is not among the 
highest motives to exertion, I question whether we are yet 
prepared to dispense with it in our schools. 

Physical education. There is a gymnasium, in which regu- 
lar exercises from the German system are practiced. At the 
time of my visit this was deserted for the play-ground in front 
of the house, and the exercises were abandoned for those games 
to which the English youth are so much attached. 

The order of the day in the school is as follows : 



BRUCE CASTLE SCHOOL. 409 

The pupils rise at half past &ix in autumn, tiie hour varying 
with the season, assemble to prayers at seven, study in classes 
until eight, breakfast and recite until nine, are in school until 
twelve, and play until three in summer and half past three in 
winter, with an interval at two, or half past one, for dinner; in 
school for three hours until six or half past six; take tea in 
winter at half past six, in summer at seven, and study until 
eight ; at prayers and to bed at nine. 

BRUCE CASTLE SCHOOL, TOTTENHAM, NEAR LONDON. 

This is a private school near the village of Tottenham, ten 
miles from London, conducted by Messrs, Edwin and Arthur 
Hill, and established by their father. The principles and prac- 
tice in their establishment are the result of the study and 
experience of the able teachers through whose hands it has 
successively passed. The object of education is thus stated, in 
the account of the institution.* 

" The object which we have kept in view, in forming our 
system of government and instruction, is to render our pupils, 
in the highest degree, virtuous and intelligent men ; and at the 
same time so to modify the education of each, as to enable him 
to pass with honour, success, and happiness, through that path 
of life into which he will probably be thrown." To effect this 
it is deemed essential to study the individual pupil, and when 
his peculiar talent and disposition are discovered, to direct him 
in the path which they point out as that which he may pursue 
most successfully, and the parent is advised accordingly. As 
there are, however, faculties to be cultivated essential to every 
man in a laudable career, so the ground- work is general, while, 
after a certain period, the education is varied according to the 
destination in life. 

The maxims laid down in relation to the exercise of the facul- 
ties of the mind are as follows : — The reflecting and inventive 

' Sketch of the System of Education, mental and intellectual, in practice at the 
schools of Bruce Castle, Tottenham, and Hazlewood, near Birmingham. London, 
1833, 

52 



110 (.ENERAL EDUCATIO\. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

powers should be as much as possible exercised, by throwing 
the pupil upon his own resources in the course of the acquisition 
of knowledge. A distinction, however, should be made in the 
amount and character of the assistance rendered to him be- 
tween those branches which may be acquired by patient study 
and in progressive steps, and those which are in a great degree 
arbitrary, as, for example, between mathematics and language. 
The assistance which is afforded must be valued in order to 
be beneficial, and must be proportioned, therefore, to the pupil's 
own powers, as well as to the nature of his studies. The un- 
derstanding should be accustomed to examine for itself every 
idea presented to it, and to be certain that it is fully grasped. 
Concentration of the mind mainly upon one subject is essen- 
tial to success in its attainment, and the studies, therefore, 
should be only so far diversified as to give the repose necessary 
to renewed vigour. This concentration cannot, of course, be 
carried so far in youth as in manhood. Order is essential to 
the efficiency of both mental and bodily labour. Desultory 
eflbrts are of little value, when compared with systematic 
exertion ; a principle which, when a number of individuals 
are concerned, can only be carried out by punctuality on the 
part of each. 

In regard to the kind of knowledge to be communicated, the 
following maxims are observed: — The degree of attention paid 
to each study should be proportioned to its importance to the 
welfare and happiness of society at large, and of the individual 
pupil. While, therefore, all the studies which form the basis of 
a general mental development are pursued, each pupil should 
bestow special attention upon those best calculated to culti- 
vate his peculiar powers. The formation of good habits of 
mind, and the development of the mental, as well as of the 
bodily strength, is more to be regarded than the early acquire- 
ment of positive knowledge. As far as possible, however, that 
knowledge should be preferred, as the means of mental culture, 
which will fit the pupils for their duties in after life. 

In regard to the mode of communicating knowledge, the ar- 
rangement of the subjects should be such as to admit of the most 



BRUCE CASTLE SCHOOL. 411 

ready application of their principles by the pupils; and hence 
the value of some branches, as introductory to others, should 
not be lost sight of. No new step should be taken without the 
certainty that the ground already passed over has been secured, 
and constant repetition must be employed to make sure that 
what has been acquired has not been lost. A succession of 
definite objects should be presented to the pupil, and the time 
necessary, with moderate exertion, to their acquisition duly 
assessed. 

The principles of moral education or discipline, as laid down 
by the instructors, are as follows: — "In arranging the motives 
which we hold out to the pupils, for the acquirement of know- 
ledge, of good habits, and of virtuous feelings, we place highest 
in the scale that which arises from the expectation of the bene- 
fits which such acquirements will confer on the holder himself, 
and the power they will give him of benefiting others. Next 
to this motive we place love of employment, then hope of arti- 
ficial reward, and, lastly, fear of punishment." Artificial re- 
wards and punishments are considered as necessary evils, and 
hence their use is limited to the smallest possible amount. Mild 
punishments, inflicted with certainty, are more efficacious than 
severe ones, from which there is a chance of escape. All un- 
necessary restraints are to be avoided. If possible, offences 
should be prevented rather than punished. 

These principles, as far as they cover the ground of educa- 
tion, seem to me to be entitled to a full assent, and it will be 
interesting to trace some of the modes of their application; and, 
first, to the moral education and government of the pupils. 

Regularity is insured by aiming at exact punctuality. Each 
exercise of the school has its appointed time, and rigid con- 
formity to this is required, without which time is lost both to 
the tardy pupil himself, and, through his negligence, to others. It 
is not uncommon in schools to allow deviation from exactness 
in the ringing of the bell, or other signals for exercise, but the 
effect is fatal to habits of punctuality. It appears to me, from 
observation, that the happiest results are produced by this rule, 
which requires the pupil to be in a particular place at a pre- 



412 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

cise second, and that it is greatly preferable to that which 
allows a latitude of several minutes. 

An economy of time is produced by this regulation, and also 
by making the acquisition of lessons " piece-work," instead of 
"day-work." A certain portion of time is allotted, within which 
the pupil may, by proper exertion, master his lesson; if he is 
specially active, and has done his work within this time, the 
remainder of it is at his own disposal. It is left to his judg- 
ment to decide w^hen the lesson is acquired, and he may leave 
his desk; but he is responsible, subsequently, for his decision. 
This regulation is of course only applied after the judgment 
necessary to its execution has been formed. 

Good conduct is encournged by various artificial methods, 
besides the natural ones of approbation and censure, and the 
fostering of kindly feelings of the pupils toward the teachers 
and towards each other. One of these is the award of school 
marks, according to a graduated scale, for the performance 
of duty, or extra work, and their forfeiture for the infraction 
of rules. The boys are divided into circles often, over which 
an elder pupil, selected by the school, presides, under the title 
of guardian. It is the duty of this guardian to assist the mem- 
bers of his circle in all cases of difficulty, as a friend and 
adviser. He also collects the fines due from the members of 
his circle. There are rewards and privileges depending upon 
the a<j2;rea;ate conduct of the members of a circle, so that each 
one may be considered as interested in the good conduct of all, 
and, therefore, in preventing infractions of laws. A plan some- 
what similar to this has also been tried at Mr. Fellenberg's insti- 
tution in Switzerland. In the case of certain boys, the rules 
relating to revt'ards and punishments have, at different times, 
been suspended with success, such boys being bound in honour 
to enter their conduct in a journal provided fur the purpose. 
For the promotion of good conduct, an analytical table is kept, 
which displays, under appropriate and well subdivided heads, 
the opinion of each teacher in regard to every pu|3il. On a 
change of conduct, there is a corresponding change of the re- 
gister. If the standing upon this roll is good, certain favours 



BRUCE CASTLE SCHOOL. 413 

are extended to the pupil, such as the use of a small garden, an 
excursion of a day or more, every half year, and the use of a 
separate small room for a study. A high place in the conduct- 
roll requires not merely the absence of infractions of rules, but 
the manifestation of active good qualities; absolute merit, not 
comparative, is rewarded by testimonials, and the name of a 
pupil who is highly distinguished is inscribed on a tablet of 
honour. In extreme cases, temporary or entire separation of a 
pupil from his fellows is resorted to as a punishment, but in no 
case is public shame or corporal punishment allowed. In ge- 
neral, the intention of this method is to dispense, as far as possi- 
ble, with punishments. Although the result of the regulations 
of this school appeared to me, in the main, satisfactory, yet 
parts of them did not strike me favourably, as, for example, the 
admission of the pupil to a share in the enactment of school- 
laws and the fixing of penalties, to which there are objections, 
founded on the loss of time, and the distraction to which it must 
give rise. Well trained pupils will be easily satisfied of the 
justice of mild laws emanating from the master, though they 
have had no voice in the enactmoiit. 

In regard to intellectual education, it is given by instruction 
in the English branches, French, Latin, Greek, the elements of 
natural science and technology, arithmetic, and other branches 
of mathematics, and is upon a liberal scale. Religious instruc- 
tion and the physical education of the pupils are carefully 
attended to. 

I propose to notice some of the peculiarities of the instruction 
in these branches, and of arrangements connected with the 
general subject of intellectual labour. French is taught as 
nearly as possible in the way in which a child might be sup- 
posed to learn its mother tongue. Phrases of common use in 
the school-room are first taught, and the pronunciation of them 
made distinct and accurate. After this, the language of the 
class-room is French, and if a pupil is unable to express him- 
self, he is permitted to ask of the teachers the required phrase, 
or as much of it as he cannot make out without aid. About 
twenty lessons, of an hour each, of familiar phrases are given, 



414 GENERAL EDUCATION'. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

and these are repeated simultaneously by the class. After this 
and Other preliminary exercises, the pupil proceeds to his first 
reading-book, a translation of iVIiss Edgeworth's " Frank," 
which has previously been read, explained, transcribed, and 
committed to memory in the English course. A paragraph 
or more is read, great care being taken with the pronuncia- 
tion; it is translated, transcribed, and written from dictation, 
rendered from French into English, and vice versa, in writ- 
ing. When tliis process has been perfectly performed, it is 
next committed to memory. Easy sentences are then given to 
render from English into French. The class thus proceeds 
through this book and the accompanying manuscript exercises. 
The rules of grammar are introduced from time to time, and 
are drawn from the pupil's own experience. He is now pre- 
pared to feel the convenience of learning the conjugations sys- 
tematically. A second reading-book follows, and with it sys- 
tematic grammar is introduced. 

While the instruction in French is thus adapted to the pur- 
pose for which it is taught, the ancient languages are pursued 
as in more exclusively classical schools, except that, perhaps, 
the study of grammar is more gradually introduced. Great 
care is taken that the exact meaning, as well as the language, 
of the authors studied is understood. The written exercises in 
language are also considered as exercises in penmanship, being 
subjected to the scrutiny of the writing as well as of the classi- 
cal master. Before entering the Latin class, therefore, a boy must 
have made a certain progress in his English education. The 
Latin is begun at between eight and nine years of age by those 
who enter young, and the experience of this school has been, 
that boys beginning with the preparation, and at the age just 
mentioned, are better Latin scholars at eleven or twelve than 
those who begin earlier, and with a less complete preparation. 
Greek is commenced when the pupil can read Ctesar. The 
number of boys in the several sections is, in this department, 
not suffered to exceed seven. 

Geography is taught nearly upon the plan described in speak- 
ing of the burgher school of Halle, in Prussia. When some 



BKUCE CASTLE SCHOOL. 415 

progress has been made in the study, imaginary voyages and 
joLirnies are made, and information is given in relation to the 
places visited. An idea of the dimensions of the earth is de- 
rived from comparing upon a globe its circumference with the 
longest actual journey which has been performed by the pupil. 
The earth is next considered as a part of the solar system. 

A course of private reading is marked out for the pupils, 
which they are encouraged to follow. The time required for an 
attentive perusal of each work is estimated, and a number of 
marks proportionate to this time may be obtained, provided the 
pupil passes a satisfactory examination upon its contents. These 
books are duly arranged in the school library, to which the 
pupils have access under certain regulations. The course con- 
sists of works calculated "gradually to impart a strong taste for 
private reading — to lead a boy, by easy steps, from the familiar 
story-books of children to the standard works of science and lite- 
rature, — to store the mind of the pupil with the historical facts 
before exposing him to the risk of false impressions from 
the mixture of history and fiction — to connect the study of 
biography with that of the corresponding portions of history — 
and where authorities disagree in their views of important 
events, to place the works of the different authors as nearly as 
convenient in juxtaposition."* This arrangement has been at- 
tended with the best effects. 

To carry out the principle, that clear and definite objects of 
attainment should always be presented to a pupil during his 
whole course, schedules of the studies are hung up, and he is 
made aware that he cannot proceed to a higher division with- 
out having passed a satisfactory examination upon the subjects 
of that in which he is. In courses depending upon principles, 
as arithmetic, &c., he must be able to correct his own errrors, 
and in such as give mechanical facility, as drawing and writ- 
ing, where exact comparison is practicable, he must come up 
to a certain average standard. 

It must be remembered by those who are disposed to consi- 

* Sketch of the System, &c., p. 1.5. 



416 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

der what arc called innovations in education as mere scheming 
without practical results, that the plans which are spoken of as 
in operation in this school have stood the test of a long expe- 
rience, and are in no wise liable to the objections of mere 
theoretical conclusions. The school where they have been 
tried continues to flourish, and these results to speak for them- 
selves, to every one who will take pains to examine into them. 



SECONDARY INSTRUCTION IN FRANCE. 417 



CHAPTER XI. 

SECONDARY INSTRUCTION IN FRANCE. 

It will facilitate the understanding of the notice which I am 
about to give of secondary instruction in France, to make a 
few preliminary remarks upon the general system, of which it 
is a part, and of the highest instruction to which it leads. 

The exclusive charge of the entire system of education is 
vested in a body styled " the University of France,"* presided 
over by a grand master, who is the minister of public instruc- 
tion, and president of a council of six, to which the regulation 
and administration of the whole are committed. Each coun- 
cillor has special charge over one or more divisions of public 
instruction, and in the offices connected with the council the 
details of business are transacted. Second to this council are 
the inspectors-general of the university, who are required to 
examine the institutions of every grade, and to report upon 
them to the council. 

The kingdom is arranged, according to its political divisions, 
into academies, each academy embracing one or more Depart- 
ments. The presiding officer of each academy is the rector, 
who is appointed by the grand master of the university, to 
serve for five years; the minister of public instruction being, 
ex officio, rector of the Academy of Paris, the active duties of 
that post are performed by a substitute. The rector is assisted 
by two inspectors and a council, who have the same duties 
within the bounds of the academy as the inspectors-general and 
council of the university have in the kingdom. The academy 

* Laws of 1806. Code Universitaire, 1835. A very excellent account of the 
University of France is given by our countryman, the Rev. Robert Baird, clergy- 
man at Paris, in the American Quarterly Register for August, 1836. 
53 



418 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

includes, besides this executive and superintending body, the 
teaching corps, or faculties, viz. — the faculty of letters, of 
science, of medicine, of law, and of theology, all of which, 
however, do not actually exist in every academy; in some, 
indeed, there is no faculty organization. These faculties con- 
sist of a variable number of professors, one of whom is dean, 
and a committee of whom examine candidates for degrees. 

The two degrees which may be taken at the close of the 
career of secondary instruction, without study in the faculties 
themselves, and which are introductory to the others, are those 
of bachelor of letters (bachelier-es-lettres) and of bachelor of 
sciences (bachelier-es-sciences). The preparation necessary 
for these degrees may be made at home, as well as in one of 
the public or private establishments for secondary instruction; 
the examination is, in a great measure, the test according to 
which they are bestowed, though, in cases where the testimo- 
nials of conduct and proficiency are strong, the examination 
has, of course, less weight than in others. As the course of 
secondary instruction hinges, in a measure, upon the quahfica- 
tions for those degrees, it is proper to introduce them here. 

To be admitted to an examination for the degree of bachelor 
of letters, the candidate must be at least sixteen years of age. 
He must prove, by a certificate, that he has studied for one 
year, at least, a course of mental and moral philosophy, and 
for the preceding year, a course of rhetoric, in an establishment 
connected with the university; or that he has been similarly 
instructed in the house of his father, brother, or uncle; or that 
he has attended the course of philosophy for at least a year, in 
a faculty of letters, and has, besides, followed the lectures of 
other departments. In the last mentioned case he must produce 
a certificate of regular attendance from the dean of the 
faculty. 

The subjects of examination are divided into three classes, 
Latin, Greek, and rhetoric; history and geography; philosophy 
and the elements of mathematics and physics. The questions 
on these several subjects are arranged beforehand, in divisions 



SECONDARY INSTRUCTION IN FRANCE. 419 

of three each, and the candidate draws, by lot, one of these 
divisions. He is required, also, to give a written exercise, 
consisting of a translation of Latin phrases. 

The Greek examination may take place upon selections from Lucian, Xeno- 
phon, Excerptas c Scriptoribus Graecis, Greek Chrestomathy, tlic Thoughts of 
Plato, the Apology of Socrates, Plutarch, Eschines, Demosthenes, Sophocles, Eu- 
ripides, and Homer. 

The Latin, upon selections from Sallust, Livy, Tacitus, Quintus Curtius, Cice- 
ro, Virgil, and Horace. Rhetoric is considered under the heads of invention, 
arrangement, and elocution. 

The other subjects are as follows: History, divided into ancient history and 
Roman history, history of the middle ages, and modern history, to include the 
seven years' war. 

Geography, including a general description of the earth, modern geography, 
and especially that of France. 

Philosophy, divided into psychology, logic, morals, natural theology, and the 
history of philosophj\ 

Elements of matheraaties, namely, arithmetic, including proportions and vul- 
gar and decimal fractions, partnership, and interest ; algebra, including equa- 
tions of the first degree, square and cube root, and proportions ; the most essential 
propositions of plane and solid geometry. 

The elements of physics include ideas of the laws of gravitation, of heat, 
electricity, magnetism, &c. 

The first principles of chemistry. 

A competent knowledge of these subjects, it will hereafter be 
seen, may be obtained by a collegian without passing through 
all the classes. A rigorous examination upon such a course 
might be considered quite sufficient for this degree, but it is 
possible tliat, by the aid of manuals ingeniously contrived to 
give the minimum of information, the student may prepare him- 
self superficially. After all, however, this evil is not so great 
to any as to the individual himself, and among the crowds who 
press forward for these degrees, the university can lose but 
little in reputation by such cases. 

To become a candidate for the degree of bachelor of 
sciences, the applicant must produce his diploma of bachelor 
of letters. If he intends to devote himself to giving instruc- 
tion in philosophy merely, he is not required to be examined on 
chemistry and natural history, but the diploma has this fact 



420 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

recorded upon it. If he applies for the baccalaureate in ma- 
thematical science, he is examined on the following subjects: 

" 1st. Arithmetic, geometry, plane trigonometry, spherical trigonometry, 
algebra, including the binomial theorem and the resolution of numerical equa- 
tions, the application of algebra to geometry, and the elements of statics, 

"2d. The elements of physical science required of the candidate for the 
baccalaureate of physical science."* 

This examination is required to last at least one hour. 

The candidate for the degree of bachelor of physical science 
is examined — 

"1st. On arithmetic, elementary geometry, algebra, including problems de- 
pending upon simple equations with one or several unknown quantities; on 
•simple machines and the part of the elements of statics referring to them. 

" 2d. The elements of physics, chemistry, and natural history, according to 
the following programme."* 

The programme referred to includes, in physics, the general properties of 
bodies, gravity, hydrostatics and hydrodynamics, heat, electricity and gal- 
vanism, magnetism, electro-magnetism, molecular action, acoustics, optics, and 
meteorology. In chemistry, the general principles, nomenclature, some of the 
simple non-metallic substances and their compounds, metals, alloys, oxides, and 
salts. General questions on zoology, botany, mineralogy, and geology. 

This examination must last not less than three-quarters of an hour. 

The mathematical course for the last named degree, except- 
ing the part relating to machines and statics, is taught in the 
first year of philosophy in the royal colleges, as will be seen 
hereafter. 

As no one can matriculate in any faculty of an academy 
without having taken the diploma of bachelor of letters, and 
the career of medicine requires also that of sciences, the prepa- 
ration for these degrees forms a definite object for attainment 
by the course of secondary instruction. 

The establishments for public secondary instruction -in 
France, are the royal and communal colleges (colleges royaux 
et communaux), and the normal school (ecole normale), and for 
private instruction the institutions (institutions) and boarding- 
schools (pensions). There are, beside, a few private colleges, 

* Decree of the Royal Council of Public Instruction, Feb. 3, 1837. 



SECONDARY INSTRUCTION IN FRANCE. 421 

the remains of ancient foundations. The law defines the royal 
colleges to be establishments in which the following branches 
are taught : — the languages, history, rhetoric, logic, elements of 
mathematics, and physical science ; the communal colleges to 
be those where instruction is given in the elements of the an- 
cient languages, and the first principles of history and science.* 
The first mentioned private establishment is defined by the law 
to be one resembling the colleges, and the second was origi- 
nally designed for a lower grade of attainment. 

The pupils of the private establishments are now required by 
law to attend the recitations of the colleges, but as they may 
enter a higher class of a college by examination on the studies 
of the previous classes, and even procure a certificate of profi- 
ciency in all the courses by the same means, the law may be 
consiaered as not rigidly enforced, although, as a general rule, 
the attendance is customary. 

The royal colleges are established by, and in part supported 
from, funds of the state and of the university. In turn, they 
contribute to the treasury of the university, of which they form 
component parts. The communal colleges are established, in 
like manner, in part at the expense of the communes. There 
are upwards of forty royal colleges in France, of which five 
are in Paris ; besides these, there are two private colleges in 
the same city. The number of communal colleges in the 
kingdom is about two hundred and thirty .f " Institutions" and 
boarding-schools are licensed by the university, and pay for 
this a yearly sum into its treasur}^ As this is less in the case 
of the latter than of the former establishment, and as the plan 
of education for them is not specifically laid down, it acts as a 
bounty toward the increase of the boarding-schools. The head 
of the former must have, according to law, at least the degree 
of bachelor in the faculties of letters and sciences, while the 



* Decree of 17th March, 1808, Art. 4, quoted in the Code Universitaire, p. 5, 
1835. 

- t Expose des motifs et projet de loi sur rinstruction secondaire presentes par 
M. Giiizot, ministre de I'instruclion publiquc, dans la seance de lundi, ler 
Fevrier, 1836. 



422 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

master of the boarding school is required to have only that of 
bachelor of letters. 

These schools are wholly subsidiary to the public ones, and 
cannot be considered as stimulating them in any degree by a 
wholesome competition. M. Guizot has pointed out the defects 
of the system as depending upon the following causes — first, 
that a special and discretionary authority, available only for 
one place, is necessary to open such an establishment ; second, 
that the pupils must be sent to the colleges ; and third, that the 
grand master of the university has the right, after an academical 
inquest, to close them.* There are more than ninety " institu- 
tions," and six hundred and sixty boarding-schools in France. 

Since the organization of the imperial university, and con- 
nexion of the lyceums (now royal colleges) with it, in 1806, 
the general outline of public secondary instruction in France 
has not varied materially. Isolated instances of modification, 
such as the establishment of courses for students of arts and 
trades, connected with the royal college of Nanci, cannot be 
considered as contravening this remark. A growing necessity 
appears, however, to have been felt for a secondary education, 
beariiTg the same relation to non-professional occupations as 
the present secondary bears to the professions. Accordingly, 
such a system was proposed by M. Guizot in 1836. 

He lays down the principle, that it is an abuse of classical 
studies to extend them so far as to create an undue tendency 
towards the learned professions, or to prevent the timely acqui- 
sition of the habits of mind and special knowledge required for 
non-professional occupations. He considers, therefore, that at a 
certain period, instruction should assume a special character, 
being directed according to the future vocation of the recipient 
of it. This division of courses he is of opinion should take place, 
either between the elementary or grammar classes of the royal 
colleges and the higher classes, or between the two lower of 
the literary classes. The very important modification thus pro- 
posed was accompanied by another, throwing open secondary 

* Almanac de TUnivprsite Royale He Franrp, 1R36. 



SECONDARY INSTRUCTION IN FRANCE. 423 

instruction to private competition under suitable regulations, as 
to the qualifications of the teachers, and repealing the law re- 
quiring the pupils of private establishments to attend the royal 
colleges. The project embodying these changes was reported, 
with some alterations, to the Chamber of Deputies, in June, 
1836, but has not, I believe, been yet acted on. Certainly no 
changes of the kind contemplated had been made previous to 
my visit to the colleges of Paris in 1837.* 

While the general outline has thus remained the same, great 
changes have been made in the filling up, the details of instruc- 
tion having been much varied in reference both to matter and 
method. Instruction in the physical and mathematical sciences, 
to prepare for the courses and first degrees of the faculty of 
science, having been necessarily admitted, the manner in which 
these should be combined with the classical studies, appears to 
have been subject to much variety of legislation by the council 
of the university. At one time, science and letters were studied 
conjointly, then they were separated, and science, except in its 
very elements, was postponed to the close of the course ; they 
are at this time again united, but with arrangements considered 
to be very imperfect. If I may judge by the examinations for 
the baccalaureate of sciences, which I attended, this opinion, 
which came to me from more than one source, is quite correct. 
The changes of position which the course of natural history 
has undergone, are very remarkable. In 1802 it was directed 
that the elements of natural history should be taught in the 
lowest class of mathematics, corresponding to the next to the 
lowest in the classics. In 1814 this subject formed a part of 
the courses of the third and second classes. In 1830 it still 
continued part of the course of the third class, and in 1832 
was transferred to the sixth or lower grammar class, where it 
is even now considered a surplus study. The modern lan- 
guages have been introduced as voluntary branches with the 
usual result, where the honours of the institution are reserved 



* I am indebted for letters of admission to the colleges of Paris to the Minis- 
ter of Public Instruction, M. Salvandy. 



424 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

for the regular courses. While the studies in science have 
not afforded the results which similar ones in other schools of 
France are daily producing, the lessons of philosophy have 
succeeded in rivalling, in the attention of the students, those of 
the languages, and now constitute a striking portion of the col- 
lege course. 

In describing the details of this system, I shall confine my 
remarks to the royal colleges, as the institutions by which the 
secondary instruction of France must be judged. It will be 
convenient to consider these institutions under the heads of, 
1st, their government and the admission of pupils; 2d, their 
discipline ; 3d, their courses of instruction ; 4th, the arrange- 
ments for domestic economy. 

Government. The royal colleges are superintended by an 
officer, called a provisor (proviseur), assisted by a censor (cen- 
seur). These officers must be at least licentiates in the facul- 
ties of letters or of sciences. The provisor has the general 
direction of the college. All the other officers are subordinate 
to him, and he has the appointment of some of them. It is his 
duty to visit frequently the infirmary, refectory, study-halls, 
dormitories, and other parts of the establishment. Accom- 
panied by the censor, he is present, from time to time, at the 
lessons of the professors. If he observe negligence on the part 
of any officer, he communicates with him through the censor. 
Every evening he receives from the latter the class lists, con- 
taining the remarks of the professors during the day, and 
every morning has such students as require admonition sum- 
moned before him. On Sunday he attends, with the censor, a 
meeting of the classes, at which the remarks of the week are 
recapitulated. Once a month he meets the censor, chaplain, 
and professors, to discuss the afiairs of the college. Every 
quarter, at least, he communicates with parents in regard to 
the health, progress, and conduct of their sons. Twice a year 
he reports to the council of his academy a detailed list of the 
pupils, and gives an account of the state of the college. 

The censor is the immediate superintendent of instruction 
and discipline, and has charge of the library. He superintends 



ROYAL COLLEGES OF FRANCE. 425 

in person the rising and going to bed of the pupils, their going 
to and coming from the classes and meals, their walks, and 
their reception-room. He furnishes the class-lists for the day, 
and their recapitulation for the week, to the provisor. He re- 
places the provisor, in case of the absence or sickness of the 
latter. In point of fact, when the provisor is a man of energy, 
the office of censor is not of very great importance, but when 
not so, and the censor has the requisite character, he is likely 
to be the real provisor. 

The chaplain (aumonier) holds the same rank as the censor. 
He is nominated by the provisor, and appointed by the rector 
of the academy, with the advice of the bishop of the diocese. 
He has charge of the religious instruction of the Roman Catho- 
lic pupils, and of the religious services on Sunday. In the col- 
lege of Louis-le-Grand, at Paris, and in some establishments out 
of the capital, there is, besides, a chaplain for the Protestant 
students. 

The professors, whose branches will be stated hereafter, are 
chosen from among the adjuncts (agreges). Each one has 
charge of a division of a class, which should not, by law, ex- 
ceed twenty-five in number. In case of an excess, the pupils 
should be so distributed between the professor and his adjunct, 
that the two divisions may, as nearly as possible, contain pupils - 
of equal capacity, so as to enter into direct competition. The 
professors make both daily and weekly reports, in relation to 
the pupils, to the censor. Besides the professors, there are 
teachers of the modern languages, of writing, arithmetic, draw- 
ing, dancing, and fencing. The first four named branches are 
taught at the expense of the college. 

The adjuncts (agreges) are appointed after a competition, 
which may take place in one or more of the following five 
divisions, namely, philosophy, the sciences, the higher classes 
of letters, history and geography, and the grammar classes. 
The competitors must have passed through the normal school, 
or have been for two years directors of studies in a royal col- 
lege, or teachers in a communal college, or have done the 
duties of adjunct in a royal college, for the same time, or 
54 



426 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

have served three years continuously as repeaters of lessons 
(repetiteurs) in the institutions or boarding-schools of the same 
academy. This term of service is reduced to one year for 
those who have the degree of doctor of sciences or letters, and 
for the pupils of the polytechnic school admitted to the public 
service. The competitors must also have certain degrees, viz: 
for the first named competition, those of licentiate of letters and 
bachelor of sciences; for the second, those of licentiate of the 
mathematical and physical sciences; for the third and fourth, 
that of licentiate of letters; and for the fifth, that of bachelor of 
letters. The judges are named by the grand master of the 
university, on the nomination of the rector of the academy. 

There are three kinds of competition (concours), by written 
exercises, by an argumentation or thesis, and by a lesson. The 
second trial lasts, at most, three hours. The third, an hour, dur- 
ing the first part of which the competitor lectures, and during 
the second, questions one of the others on the subject of the 
lecture. The competitors in philosophy compose two disputa- 
tions in French, one on a philosophical question, the other on 
a part of the history of philosophy. A thesis is sustained upon 
similar subjects as the second part of the competition. The 
competition in mathematics and physics consists, for the first 
trial, of an essay on two subjects, one in each of these branches, 
or in chemistry, as a substitute for physics; for the second, in 
questioning and answering questions on the subjects of exami- 
nation for the grades of licentiate of mathematical science, and 
of licentiate of physical science. That in the higher classes of 
letters consists, for the first trial, in composing a Latin disserta- 
tion on some subject of ancient or modern literature, a disserta- 
tion, in French, on some subject of philosophy, a piece of Latin 
poetry, and a translation of Greek into French; for the second, 
in translating, at sight, passages selected from a Greek or 
Latin author, and in answering any question of other competi- 
tors on the subject, or growing out of it, and asking them ques- 
tions in return. The competition in history and geography 
requires no special description. For the grammar class the 
competitor must, on his first trial, translate selected pieces from 



ROYAI, COLLEGES OF TRANCE. 427 

Latin into French, and vice versa, and from Greek into French, 
and vice versa, and compose Latin verses; for his second trial 
he must translate, at sight, a passage from a Greek, and 
another from a Latin author, into French, and stand an ex- 
amination upon it by the other competitors, or by the judges. 

There are several adjuncts attached to every college, who 
supply the places of absent professors, and who take divisions 
of the classes for regular instruction. When not thus attached, 
so that their stipend is furnished by a college, they are entitled 
to a small payment from the university. In the college of 
Louis-le-Grand there are no less than twenty adjuncts, besides 
the officers, professors, and directors of study. There are, in 
the same institution, upwards of one thousand pupils of differ- 
ent classes, more than five hundred being boarders. 

This arrangement, by which a number of young men are 
connected w'ith public instruction at their entrance into lite, and 
secured the means of devoting themselves to teaching, is one 
of the most, if not the most, important provision of all those 
which regulate the university of France. The competition 
prevents, in general, the connexion of those who are deficient 
in capacity to learn and to teach, and the supply of vacancies 
among the teachers by young men thus trained has inestima- 
ble advantages. 

The officers who superintend the pupils when not in the class- 
rooms are called directors of study (maitres d'etudes). They 
must be at least of the grade of bachelor of letters. There is 
one of them to about twenty-five students. This officer eats 
with the students, sleeps in a room adjacent to their dormito- 
ries, superintends them in their walks, at going to and from 
the recitation-rooms, and when in their dormitories, assists them 
in the preparation of their lessons, and attends them in the 
writing, dancing, music, and fencing exercises. After hearing 
the lessons of the students, he reports to the professor his 
opinion of the preparation of each, and to the censor their 
conduct and progress. The reports to the censor are made 
daily, and an abstract is given to him at the close of the week. 
To assist in the discipline, the pupils are divided into small sec- 



428 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

lions, over which the director appoints one as the head, who is 
responsible for the good order of his fellows. These directors 
are thus not mere superintendents of the play hours, as in 
some of the institutions already noticed in other countries, but 
a lower grade of teachers, who are required to be competent to 
hear the recitations, to ascertain that due preparation has been 
made, and to assist the pupils, if necessary. They are appointed 
by the grand master of the university, on the nomination of 
the provisor, and receive, at first, merely a provisional appoint- 
ment, during which time their nomination may be recalled. 

The steward has charge of the domestic economy, under 
direction of the provisor. All purchases of considerable 
amount are made by contract, and according to the estimates 
sanctioned by the council of the university; smaller purchases 
may be authorized by the council of the academy. The war- 
rant of the provisor is a sufficient authority to the steward for 
expenditures which have received the regular sanction, or for 
small extra ones. The steward is also treasurer of the college, 
keeps a regular account of receipts and disbursements, and of 
purchases. He makes up, weekly, an account of provisions 
received and issued. Every eight days the provisor verifies the 
balance sheet, and inspects the books once a month. The 
steward furnishes to the minister of public instruction a 
monthly statement of his accounts, with the vouchers, which 
are examined in the appropriate bureau. Besides this, he trans- 
mits, yearly, an abstract of his account to the same officer. 
His books, and the state of the treasury, are subject to a quar- 
terly inspection by an officer deputed by the rector of the aca- 
demy. He prepares for transmission to the rector, by the pro- 
visor, a quarterly account of the stock on hand. This officer 
gives bonds for the fiithful performance of his duties. 

The servants of the college are under the special charge of 
the steward. Some of them sleep in rooms connected with the 
dormitories. Eveiy night one keeps watch, that there may be 
assistance at hand in case of sickness, two servants dividing 
the night watch between them. During the day, one of them is 
required to go the rounds of the halls, court, and stairs, to see 



ROYAL COLLEGES OF FRANCE. 429 

that all is in order, and, during play hours, another is always in 
attendance at the door of the receiving-room, to call those stu- 
dents whose friends desire to see them. 

The officers of the colleges, from the pro visor to the professors 
inclusive, are appointed by the grand master of the university. 
The different officers are paid according to the grade of in- 
stitution to which they belong, a classification having been 
made for that purpose. When the salaries are small, as in the 
case of inferior otHcers, they are secured an increase accord- 
ing to the term of service. All who enter into obligations to 
serve in the career of public instruction for ten years, are ex- 
empted from regular military service, though not from jury- 
duty, and service in the national guard. All receive pensions 
for long continued and faithful discharge of duty, and these in- 
crease with the time during which they are enjoyed. Their 
emoluments are, in general, not confined to the salaries which 
they receive, but also depend, in part, upon the number of stu- 
dents under their charge, each one having a certain proportion- 
ate interest in the fees paid to the college, according to his re- 
sponsibility. When the college has a surplus income over and 
above its expenditures, it is divided among the officers, under 
the direction of the university council. The provisor, censor, 
chaplain, and directors of studies, are required to live in the col- 
lege. Rooms are in some cases provided for the professors, but 
no allowance is made for quarters to those who reside out of the 
institution. The directors of studies and chaplain are boarded 
by the college. A physician and surgeon visit the college once 
a-day. The nursing is done by sisters of charity. 

Admission. The pupils are of two classes, boarders (inter- 
nes), and day-scholars (externes), from the " institutions" and 
boarding-schools. To be admitted, a youth must have attained 
eight years of age, and produce a certificate of vaccination. 
In addition, to be received as a boarder, he must know how to 
read and write, and, as a day-scholar, to read, write, and cypher. 
The provisor alone has the authority to grant admission. 

The boarders are divided into three divisions. The first con- 
sists of tiie eighth and seventh classes, and forms the petty-col- 



430 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECOXDARY PERIOD. 

lege (petit-college). The second of the sixth, fifth, fourih, and 
third. The third of the second and rhetoric class, and of the 
philosophy classes. Each class has its dormitories, with sepa- 
rate beds for every pupil. There is a special superintendence 
for each of these divisions. 

Among the boarders, part receive both maintenance and in- 
struction gratuitously, having the benefit of the royal or com- 
munal bursaries (bourses) founded for that purpose. Others 
have aid from parts of bursaries. The expenses for books and 
for the studies of those who are full bursars are defrayed, as 
well as for their clothing, maintenance, and instruction. The 
royal bursars are appointed by the minister of public instruc- 
tion, the communal by the municipal councils of the towns who 
hold the bursaries. These pupils are admitted between the 
ages of nine and twelve, and may, according to law, be sent 
away from the college if they do not pass a satisfactory exami- 
nation at the close of any year. 

Order of the day. From five A. M. to six the pupils rise, 
dress, wash, and attend prayers. Six to seven, the directors of 
studies examine their written exercises, in succession, the pupils 
being meanwhile at study. Seven to half past seven, the pupils 
recite. Half past seven to eight, breakfast. Eight to ten, les- 
sons of the professors. Ten to eleven, writing, arithmetic, and 
drawing. Eleven to twelve, preparation of lessons. Twelve 
to half past one, P. M., dinner and recreation. Half past one 
to half past four, lessons of the professors. From half past four 
to five, luncheon and recreation. Five to half past seven, pre- 
paration of lessons. Half past seven to eight, supper. Eight 
to nine, recreation, religious reading, prayers, and to bed. 
During meals a pupil reads a lesson pointed out by the provisor. 

Discipline. The form of the discipline is military; the pupils 
march in regular order, and are taught the more simple parts 
of the drill. All the signals are given by the beat of drum. 

The students are allowed to receive visits from their parents 
or guardians, or friends, with express permission of the pro- 
visor. These visits are restricted to tlie period from dinner- 
time to half past one, on ordinary days, and on Sundays and 



ROYAL COLLEGES OF FRANCE. 431 

holidays from dinner-time to three o'clock. As a reward for 
good conduct, they may be permitted to leave the college on 
Thursdays at ten o'clock, and on Sundays and festivals after 
service, to remain until seven in the evening in winter, and 
eight in the summer. One of their parents, or some person of 
credit, must leave the college and return with them. They are 
required to wear the uniform while out. 

The porter, who receives their permits to go out, marks upon 
them the time of their return, and overstaying the time is at- 
tended with the forfeiture of one or more turns of leave. These 
permissions to leave the grounds can only be granted twice a 
month. Great doubt was expressed to me, by a high authority, 
of their efficacy, and of the expediency of permitting visits to 
be received. In a country, however, where the ties of domestic 
hfe are very feeble, the practice of placing boys in the colleges 
tends to weaken them still further, and they might be quite sun- 
dered if no communication took place between parent and child 
during the whole ten years of the collegiate course. 

Pupils are allowed to correspond with their parents only, or 
with persons approved by them, and the letters pass through 
the hands of the provisor. Their pocket-money is regulated 
by the provisor; there is an understanding on the subject with 
the parents, who are not allowed to furnish money directly to 
their children. 

The day-scholars are marched to and from the college by 
the heads of the houses where they reside, or by a responsible 
substitute. They enter the class-rooms and leave them at a 
different time from the boarders, so as to cut off unnecessary 
communication. In case of absence, the censor reports the 
pupil to the master of his school or to his parents. A pro- 
fessor may suspend a day-scholar, but the provisor alone can 
dismiss him. The day-scholars are not allowed to wear the 
uniform of the boarders. 

The punishments recognised by law for the boarders are, 
deprivation of recreation and extraordinary task, deprivation of 
the opportunity of walking out, retrenchment in diet, refusals 
of leave to go out, or to receive their friends, imprisonment, 



432 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARy PERIOD. 

with a task, deprivation of the uniform, and occupation of a 
particular place in the class-room, study-halls, &c., deprivation 
of vacations, and dismission. None of the punishments but the 
last is permitted to interfere with the attendance on the lessons 
of the professors. Nothing can, however, be worse conceived 
than the public shame put on a pupil by changing his dress, and 
its concomitant circumstances. Whether extra tasks are ad- 
missible in an enlightened system of instruction, seems to me 
more than doubtful ; they serve fully to secure the disgust of the 
pupil to what he should rather be induced, if possible, to like. 
The last four named punishments can only be inflicted by the 
provisor, the others may be inflicted by order of the censor, 
professors, or directors of studies. In the case of a royal bursar, 
the provisor has the right of suspension, and must report the 
circumstances to the minister; they are examined by an in- 
spector, who reports, and by the result the case is decided: the 
explanation of this delicacy towards the royal bursars is, that 
their parents have usually earned these places for their children 
by some service, and hence that they should not be deprived of 
their reward but upon the strongest grounds. 

Instruction. The courses of the colleges are intended to fit 
their pupils for the first degree in letters and science, and for 
pursuing the course of the diflerent faculties in the academies, 
to enable them to enter a literary or scientific career, or the 
profession of theology, law, or medicine. 

It has been a subject much agitated, whether the instruction 
in letters and science should be combined or successive, and 
the law at different times has, as already stated, varied on this 
point; that both letters and science were to be embraced in the 
courses does not seem, for many years, to have been at all 
doubted. The law of 1806, which may be considered as the 
basis of the present system, connected them; that of 1821 
severed them, and confined instruction in the mathematical 
and physical sciences to the last year of the course. In 1826 
they were again united. Great difficulty has been found, appa- 
rently, in determining the extent and in giving a place to certain 
branches, and natural history has thus, as we have seen, been 



ROYAL COLLEGES OF FRANCE. 433 

transferred i'requently from one part of the course to another, 
and has probably never been efficiently taught. 

The branches are divided into two sets, those which are obli- 
gatory upon all, and those which may be pursued or not, at the 
option of the parent of the student. Some of these latter, as, for 
example, the modern languages, are furnished by the college 
without charge, and the others must be paid for extra. The 
obligatory courses are those of French, Latin, Greek, geo- 
graphy, history, rhetoric, philosophy, mathematics, physics, 
chemistry, and natural history. 

There are nine classes, which are subdivided into sections, 
according to the number of pupils. Not more than twenty-five 
should, according to law% be in a division and under one in- 
structor, though this number is frequently exceeded, rising as 
high, including the day scholars, as sixty, and even seventy. 
Some colleges have a preparatory class, or classes below the 
eighth, for very young pupils. The following is, according to 
the latest laws on the subject, an outline of the instruction in 
the different classes: 

Elementaut Classes. These are two in number, and are taught sacred 
history, French and Latin grammar, geography, arithmetic, and writing. A 
lesson every morning, and one in the afternoon, three times a weelc, are devoted 
to the French and Latin grammar. Two lessons a week to sacred history, geo- 
graphy, and arithmetic. 

Sixth Class. The Sunday Gospels in Latin. SelectaB e Profanis, Cornelius 
Nepos. ^Esop's Fables compared with tliose of La Fontaine. Geography com- 
menced. Jewish and Christian morals. Sacred history. History commenced. 
Writing and arithmetic continued. Natural history once a week. 

The classics and Frencli occupy five lessons in the morning and three in the 
afternoon, per week. One afternoon lesson is devoted to geography and mythology. 

Fifth Class. New Testament, the Acts of the Apostles. Selectee e Profanis. 
PhEedrus' Fables. Greek roots. Extracts from Lucian's Dialogues. JEUan. 
Isocrates. Themes. Ancient history one afternoon per week. Geography. 
Telemachus. Writing and arithmetic continued. Natural history. 

Frencl) and the classics occupy, per week, five morning and tliree afternoon 
lessons. History and geography one lesson. Natural history one afternoon class 
and an extra morning class. 

Fourth Class. New Testament in Greek, Quintus Curtius. Caesar. 
Cicero de Amicitia, ct de Senectute. Greek roots. Xenoplion's Cyropsedia. 
Plutarcli's Lives. Selections from Ovid and from Virgil's Bucolics and Georgics. 
Latin prosody. Latin versification commenced. Selections from Fenelon. 
Charles XII. History, by a special professor, once a week. Roman history. 
55 



434 GExVERAL EDUCATIOIV. SECONDARV PERIOD. 

Arithmetic, Linear drawing, and drawing of the human figure commenced, and 
continued in the otlier classes. 

The morning hours, and three of the afternoon lessons, are devoted to the 
classics and to French, one afternoon, besides an extra morning lesson, to geo- 
grapliy and history, and one to arithmetic. 

TiiiuD Glass. New Testament, Saint Luke (Greek text). Cicero's Orations. 
Virgil. Latin versification. Plutarch (morals). Homer. Selections from Masil- 
lon, Buffon, and Boileau. History, by a special professor, twice a week. His- 
tory of the Middle Ages. Age of Louis XIV., by Voltaire. 

All the morning and two of the afternoon lessons are occupied with French, 
Latin, and Greek. One afternoon, and one extra morning lesson, are devoted to 
history. Two to geometry. 

Second Class. New Testament (Greek text). Livy. Cicero de Officiis et de 
Oratore. Tacitus. Virgil. Horace's Odes. Philippics of Demosthenes. Plato. 
Homer. A tragedy of Sophocles or Euripides. Oration of Chrysostom. The 
Rise and Fall of Rome. The Universal History of Bossuet. Modern history. 
Rousseau. Introductory exercises to the course of rhetoric. Narratives in 
French and Latin. Arithmetic, in its various branches, two lessons per week. 

The morning lessons and two of the afternoon lessons are occupied in classics 
and French. Two of the afternoon lessons are devoted to history and one to 
chemistry. 

Rhetoric Class. New Testament, Acts of the Apostles (Greek text). Con- 
dones e Latinis Scriptoribus Excerptse. Cicero's Orations. Tacitus. Horace. 
Virgil. Lucan. Demosthenes, oration for the crown. Conciones Grsecae. Homer. 
Pindar. A tragedy of Sophocles or Euripides. Rhetoric. Funeral Orations, by 
Bossuet and Flechiere. La Bruyere. French dramatic classics. Boileau. 
The Henriade. Latin and Greek versification and composition. History of 
France. Elements of Geometry. Plane Trigonometry. 

Five morning lessons and four of the afternoon are devoted, per week, to French 
and classics, and one afternoon to history. One extra morning class to cosmo- 
graphy, preceded by a review of arithmetic and geometry. 

Philosophy Class. First year. Mental and moral philosophy. Written 
compositions in Latin and French, on subjects of metaphysics, logic, or morals. 
Geometry reviewed. Algebra to quadratic equations, with a review of the 
rules of arithmetic. Trigonometry. Elementary ideas of the system of the 
world. Physical science commenced. 

Four lessons are devoted to elementary mathematics, and one to elementary 
physics. Five to philosophy. Once a week there is an extra lesson on physics 
and chemistry. The lectures on philosophy are given in French. 

Philosophy Class. Second Year. The elements of algebra completed. Ap- 
plication of algebra to geometry. Principles of descriptive geometry, five hours 
per week. In the first half year the elements of physical science, and the gene- 
ral principles of chemistry, are completed, and in the second the elements of 
chemistry and mineralogy. These occupy four hours per week. Six classes of 
mathematics, those of physics, and the study hours of the day are devoted to 
these sciences. Alternate compositions on physical and mathematical subjects. 

Religious Instruction. Besides the study of the New Testament in a Latin 
translation and in the original Greek version, there are special lessons by the 



ROYAL COLLEGES OF FRANCE. 435 

Catholic and Protestant chaplains to the students of their respective creeds. 
There are prayers at rising and going to bed. Graces at meals; and a short 
extract is read from a religious work before retiring, at niglit. 

The modern languages are taught in the fifth, fourth, third, and second classes. 
In the fifth two hours and a-half, in the other classes two liours per week are 
occupied witli them. A study-hall is provided for learning the lessons given by 
the teachers of modern languages, and the pupils are superintended during the 
study hours by a director of studies. 

The English and German are the modern languages taught. 

In comparing these courses with the acquisitions necessary 
for the degree of bachelor of letters and of branches of sciences, 
it will be seen that, in general, the student must have passed 
through one year of the philosophy class to be able to stand 
an examination upon the subjects enumerated as essential to 
receiving the former, and two years of the same class for the 
latter. 

A student who has entered at nine years of age, and gone 
regularly through the nine years' courses, including the first 
year of philosophy, may commence at eighteen the study of 
law or theology, and by the addition of another year in col- 
lege, or by extra study, that of medicine. It appears, then, that 
besides the direction towards a general mental training, the 
studies pursued in the colleges of France have a direct bearing 
upon the career which the student is to follow in after life. 

I proceed next to consider the means taken to stimulate to 
exertion. These consist mainly in places in the class, in ex- 
aminations, and prizes. 

Examinations. These ought to take place, according to law, 
at the end of the fifth and tenth months of the courses. The 
law further provides that all those of Paris shall be held at the 
same time, or nearly so, in the different colleges, by committees 
of examiners appointed by the rector of the academy, one 
committee being for each class, examining separately, and 
holding their sessions for five hours on two successive days. 
The examinations to be viva voce, the written compositions 
which have gained the highest place from the beginning of the 
course being submitted to these examiners. The committees 
are directed to report to the inspector-general, and the result 
of the examinations should be made known through the pi'o- 



43C GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

visor 1o the students. The examination at the close of the tenth 
month should determine whether the pupil may pass to a higher 
class or not; and if then found deficient, he has the privilege of 
re-examination at the close of the vacation, and if he have 
made up the deficiency, may he permitted to rejoin his class. 
In fact, the law in regard to examinations is not executed, and 
the pupils are regularly advanced, every year, until they reach 
the fourth class, where they are obliged to pass a satisfactory 
examination before they can enter the third. This is considered 
a defect, since there is no method of stopping the idle or incom- 
petent at the threshold. The neglect of the prescribed examina- 
tions, at the end of each year, produces evils which have been 
severely censured by those most competent to judge, from their 
connexion with public instruction in France.* 

Prizes. The college year is closed by the distribution of prizes 
which have been gained in the various classes. These are 
awarded after the examination of all the compositions of the 
half year, which are valued according to a system of marks. 
They are given in a public meeting of the college, and with 
much ceremony. The highest prizes in philosophy and rheto- 
ric are called prizes of honour (prix d'honneur), and have 
attached to them the substantial privilege of exemption from 
regular military service. In each class there is a first and 
second prize, which cannot be divided, and the number of 
"accessits" must not exceed eight. The books to be given as 
prizes are determined by the rector. 

There is, at Paris, a second distribution of prizes, resulting 
from a competition (concours) among the colleges of Paris and 
Versailles; this distribution is made with much ceremony by 
the grand master of the university, in presence of the officers 
of that body, the assembled students of the colleges, and the 
public. The pupils of the classes above the sixth compete for 
these prizes, which embrace the circle of their different col- 
legiate studies. At the same meeting, a list of those who have 
gained the prizes in the colleges is read. 

* See M. Cousin. Sur I'lnstruction Secondaire tie Prusse. Paris, 1837. 



ROYAL COLLEGES OF FRANCE. 437 

The system of emulation is probably carried further in these 
institutions than in any others which I visited. Indeed, it is the 
basis of all exertion; the great motive which is placed before 
the student, and which he obeys. He is constantly under this 
artificial stimulus during his college residence, and the result 
affects his character in after life. The present social condition 
of the literary and scientific ranks in France, as a class, is pro- 
duced by the results of a competition, which extends from the 
beginning to the end of their career. 

The great stress which is laid upon composition, especially 
that in the French language, by making the prizes hinge upon 
it, cultivates this art to a high degree, and creates the ready 
writers who are constantly issuing from these colleges, and 
engaging in literary pursuits for a subsistence. 

Holidays. The vacations are for about six weeks, from the 
close of the month of August until the middle of October. 
During these periods the students may go home, or may visit 
such families as their parents indicate. Those who remain in 
the college are occupied, during part of the time, in regular 
studies, under the charge of an adjunct or of a director of 
studies. They take frequent walks during these vacations. 

There are, beside, during term-time, days on which there are 
no lessons, when, however, the students, in general, do not re- 
turn home. On New Years' day all have permission to leave 
the college. On the Monday and Thursday before Lent, and 
the Wednesday after Easter Monday, on Whit-Monday, &c., 
those who have received special permission may leave the 
premises. On Sundays, and some of the other holidays, the 
pupils take walks, at the discretion of the provisor, weather 
permitting. 

Domestic economy. As the economical arrangements of these 
institutions have been the subject of much consideration and 
trial, I have thought that a brief sketch of them, as laid down 
in the laws, might be profitable. 

The expenditures of the colleges are divided into the follow- 
ing six heads: first, diet; second, repairs and washing; third, 



438 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

clothing; fourth, emoluments; fifth, petty expenses; sixth, mis- 
cellaneous and extra expenses. The first includes provisions 
for the supply of the students, chaplain, directors of studies, 
and servants, fuel, &lc., for the kitchen. The second, the wash- 
ing and repairs of the clothing of the pupils. The third, the 
purchase of new clothes. The fourth, the emoluments of the 
officers, the salaries of inferior officers, and the wages of the 
servants and workmen. The fifth includes the expenses of 
lighting and warming the college, of books for studies, of re- 
pairs of furniture, and of the infirmary, &c. The sixth needs 
no explanation. The amounts estimated as necessary for each 
of these expenditures are submitted by the provisor to the rec- 
tor of the academy, and the councils decide in relation to 
authorizing them. They also determine if proposals shall be 
received for supplying the articles required, or if they shall be 
purchased by agreement, or at the market prices. In the first 
two cases, the approbation of the council is necessary to con- 
clude the bargain, and in the last, the authority of the provisor 
is sufficient to enable the steward to make the purchase. 

The steward has charge of all the goods and chattels of the 
college, and is intrusted with the receipts and disbursements, 
giving bonds for the faithful discharge of his duties. He pays 
no bill without an order from the provisor, whose authority 
entitles him, also, to use the sums which may be necessary 
for the daily expenses of the house, and to whom he must ac- 
count at least once a fortnight; the receipts constitute his 
vouchers. He keeps the iV)llowiug books: — 1st, A register of 
all moneys received, stating the purpose for which they were 
paid in. 2d, A journal of receipts and disbursements. 3d, A 
ledger, in which the accounts are posted under the heads of 
debtor and creditor. 4th, A record of the receipts and issues 
of provisions, divided into as many accounts as there are dif- 
ferent kinds of supplies, stating, also, the use to which each 
article has been applied. On the last day of every quarter 
the steward balances this account and makes an inventory of 
the stock on hand. The provisor and commissaries, appointed 



ROYAL COLLEGES OP FRANCE. 439 

by the rector from the academic council, verify this inventory 
by the accounts in the book. 

The provisor examines the steward's statement of the 
balance on hand every eight days. At the close of the month, 
he inspects all his books, and ascertains that they agree, or 
reports any deficiency to the minister. He also verifies, 
monthly, the account of stock. The state of the steward's 
accounts is further examined, quarterly, by the rector of the 
academy to which the college belongs, or by a deputy, who 
reports to the minister. At the same time, this officer ascer- 
tains if the provisor has discharged his duties in regard to the 
accounts. Every month the steward transmits to the minister 
a literal copy of his register of moneys received, and a state- 
ment of his receipts and expenditures, with his vouchers. He 
also forwards, quarterly, his account of stock. 

Before the close of the month of March, the provisor furnishes 
to the rector of his academy, a statement of the accounts of the 
year, with a report upon this department of the college service. 
These are referred to a committee of the academic council, 
who report in May, and their report, with the original docu- 
ments, and the remarks of the rector upon them, are forwarded 
to the minister of public instruction. 

Every year, about the first of January, the steward prepares 
a statement of the receipts and disbursements, exhibiting the 
balance on hand at the close of the last year; the sums received 
and expended during the year, with a statement of their pur- 
poses, and the balance on hand. Also, an account of the stock 
on hand at the date of the last report, the receipts and issues 
during the year, and the amount on hand. The steward certi- 
fies these accounts, which are examined and approved by the 
provisor, and forwarded to the minister. 

When the monthly accounts of the steward are received in 
the office of the minister, they are examined, and if mistakes in 
the figures, or omissions, are detected, or modifications are 
necessary, the accounting officer is at once informed of it. 
The vouchers remain on file in the office until the close of 
the year, when they are appended to the general account. 



440 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

The annual statements having been duly verified, are trans- 
mitted to the court of accounts. 

Thus there are two sets of checks, one from the academic 
council and rector, the other from the ministerial bureau, and 
both are revised by the court. 

NORMAL SCHOOL OF FRANCE. 

The " normal school," intended to furnish professors for 
colleges, was established in 1794, by the same convention 
which created the polytechnic school. The organization pro- 
posed by the law was upon a scale entirely beyond the wants 
to be supplied, and notwithstanding the exertions of its eminent 
professors, the school had but a temporary existence, and ill 
success, mainly from the unprepared state of the pupils who 
had entered it, and to whom the kind of instruction was entirely 
unadapted. There were thirteen courses of lectures, and among 
the professors were Lagrange, Laplace, Haiiy, Monge, Ber- 
thollet, Volney, Bernardin St. Pierre, Sicard, and Laharpe. 
The school was suppressed by a decree of April, 1795, and its 
pupils dispersed. After the re-organization of the university, in 
1806, the expediency of reviving the normal school appears to 
have been felt, and it was reorganized in 1808. The number 
of pupils provided for in the new plan, was three hundred; but 
from 1810 to 1826 there were never more than fifty-eight 
actually in attendance. According to the plan of instruction, 
lectures were to be attended out of doors, and interrogations 
and study to take place within tlic school, under the charge 
of the elder pupils. The recitations of the pupils to each other 
were called conferences,- a name which is still preserved, being 
applied to the lessons given by the teachers, who are called 
masters of conferences. The duration of the course of instruc- 
tion was limited at first to two years, but subsequently extended 
to three. The school was a second time suppressed, in 1822, 
and in 1820 an institution, termed a "preparatory school," was 
substituted for it, which in its turn was abolished, and the old 
normal school revived by a decree of the lieutenant-general of 
the kingdom, on the 6th of August, 1830. A report was made 



FORMAL SCHOOL AT PARIS. 441 

by M. Cousin, Secretary of the Council of Public Instruction, 
in October, 1830, the recommendations of which were adopted 
substantially. New regulations for tlie course of study, the 
general arrangements and discipline, have been gradually pre- 
pared, and the school has commenced a career of usefulness 
which it bids fair to prosecute with increasing success. 

The chief purpose of the normal school is to give its pupils 
ample opportunities of preparation for the competition for places 
of adjuncts in the colleges (cours d'agregation), and its arrange- 
ments are all subordinate to this object. In this competition, 
however, the pupils of the school meet on an equal footing, 
merely, with all other candidates. 

The officers, in 1837, were, the director,* who did not reside 
at the school, nor take part in the instruction; the director of 
studies, the resident head of the establishment ;f eight masters 
of conferences for the section of letters ; six masters of confer- 
ences, and one for the drawing department, for the section of 
sciences; two preparers (preparateurs) ; a sub-director, charged 
with a general superintendence of the pupils; and two assistants, 
called superintending masters. The masters of conferences have, 
in general, equivalent duties to the professors in the colleges. 
In 1837 there were eighty pupils in the school, of whom forty- 
nine were supported entirely by the funds allowed by the go- 
vernment, and eighteen had half their expenses defrayed. 

The normal school at present occupies a part of the build- 
ings belonging to the Royal College of Louis-le-Grand,' and 
the college furnishes the food and clothing of the pupils by 
agreement with the school. This connexion has- advantages, 
and among them that of enabling the pupils to have some prac- 
tice in teaching, but they are more than counterbalanced by 
disadvantages, and the friends of the school are earnest in their 
endeavours to procure a separate domicile for it. The accom- 
modations for lodging, study, instruction, and exercise, as far 
as the building and its scite are concerned, are certainly of a 
most limited kind. 

* M. Cousin, peer of France, secretary of the council of the university, &c, 
t M. Viguier. 

56 



442 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

Admission. The number of pupils who may be admitted is de- 
termined every year by the probable number required to fill the 
vacancies in secondary instruction. The admissions are made 
by competition, and for the most successful competitors a limited 
number of bursaries (bourses), are established, divisible into half 
bursaries, which are distributed to those who require assistance. 
The candidates enter their names at the academy nearest to 
their residence, between the fifteenth of June and of July, every 
year. Each candidate deposites the following certificates, viz. 
of the date of birth, showing that he is over seventeen and under 
twenty-three years of age; of having been vaccinated; of moral 
conduct; of having completed, or being about to complete, his stu- 
dies, including philosophy, and if he intends to become a teacher 
of science, a course of special mathematics and of physics; a de- 
claration from his parent or guardian, if the candidate is a 
minor, that he will devote himself for ten years, from the period 
of admission, to public instruction. These lists are fonvarded by 
the rectors of the several academies, with their remarks, to the 
council of public instruction, which returns, before the first of 
August, a list of those persons who may be examined for admis- 
sion. This examination is made in the several academies, with a 
view to select the most prominent candidates, whose cases are 
to be ultimately decided by competition at the school in Paris. 
It consists of compositions upon subjects which are the same for 
all the academies, and of interrogations and oral explanations. 
For the candidates, as future instructors in letters, the written 
exercises are a dissertation, in French, on some points of phi- 
losophy, an essay in Latin, an essay in French, a Latin and Greek 
version, and Latin verses. The oral examinations turn upon 
the classical authors read in college, and upon the elements of 
philosophy, rhetoric, and history. The candidates in science 
have the same written exercises in philosophy and in Latin 
versions, and in addition, must solve one or more questions 
in mathematics and physics. The oral examinations are upon 
subjects of mathematics, physics, and philosophy, taught in 
the philosophy class of the colleges.* All the written exer- 

* See this Report, p. 43 1. 



NORMAL SCHOOL AT PARIS. 443 

cises and notes of the oral examinations are forwarded to 
the minister of pubhc instruction, and submitted severally to 
a committee of letters and a committee of science, taken 
from among the masters of the normal school, the director 
being chairman of each committee. These committees decide 
whether the candidates are fit to be allowed to present them- 
selves for examination at the school, and those who are deemed 
worthy, receive a notice to report themselves on or before the 
fifteenth of October. Previous to this competition the candi- 
dates are required to present their diploma of bachelor of let- 
ters or of sciences. The masters of the normal school are 
divided into two committees, one of letters and the other of 
science, for conducting these examinations, which are oral, and 
the result of which determines the admission or rejection of the 
candidate. On admission, the pupil makes an engagement to 
devote himself to public instruction for ten years. 

Instruction. The present arrangement of the courses of in- 
struction can only be regarded as provisional, improvements 
being gradually introduced, as observation shows their neces- 
sity. The principle declared by the director, M. Cousin, to be 
that of the school in this respect, is worthy of all commendation. 
"When," says M. Cousin, in his Report of 1835-6,* "experi- 
ence shows the necessity or utility of a measure which the fun- 
damental regulations of the school have not provided for, it is 
by no means proposed at once to the royal council for adoption 
as an article of the regulations; authority is asked to put it to 
the test of practice, and it is only when found repeatedly suc- 
cessful that it is deemed prudent to convert it into a regulation." 
A close observation of the merits and defects of the system is 
thus made to pave the way for judicious changes. 

The full course of the school, at present, occupies three 
years. The pupils are divided into two sections, that of let- 
ters and of science, which pursue separate courses. In the 
section of letters, the first year is devoted to a revision, and 
the second to an extension, of the higher courses of the col- 

* Ecole Normale. R^glements, programmes, et rapports. Paris, 1837, 



444 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

leges, and the third is especially employed in fitting the pupils 
to become professors. In fulfilling this object, however, no 
instruction in the science or art of teaching is given in the 
establishment, nor is it obligatory upon the pupils to teach, so 
that, as far as systematic practice goes, they derive no direct 
benefit from the school; it is a privilege, however, which many 
enjoy, to be called to give lessons in some of the royal colleges, 
particularly in that with which the school is now connected by 
its locality. When the pupil intends to devote himself to teaching 
in the grammar classes of the colleges, or is found not to have 
the requisite ability for taking a high rank in the body of in- 
structors, he passes at once from the first year's course to the 
third, and competes, accordingly, in the examination of ad- 
juncts (agreges). The consequences of the low esteem in which 
the grammar studies are held, have been much deplored by the 
present director of the school,* and a reform in regard to them 
has been attempted, with partial success. 

The courses are conducted by teachers called masters of 
conferences, who seldom lecture, but question the pupils upon 
the lessons which have been appointed for them to learn, give 
explanations, and are present while they interrogate each other, 
as a kind of practice in the art of teaching. In some cases, 
the students themselves act as masters of conferences. 

The course of letters of the^rs^ ijear comprised, in 1836-7,t 

1. Greek language and literature, three lessons per week. 2. Latin and 
French literature, three lessons. 3. Ancient history and antiquities, three les- 
sons, 4. A course of philosophy higher than that of the colleges, three lessons. 
5. General physics, one lesson. Chemistry, one lesson, the courses being in- 
troduced chiefly to keep up the knowledge of these subjects. 6. German and 
English language, each one lesson. 

The conferences, or lessons, on general physics, chemistry, 
and the modern languages, are by pupils who give instruction 
and explanations to their comrades. 

* Rapport sur les travaux de I'ecole normale pendant I'arm^e, 1835-6. Par M. 
Cousin. 

+ The distribution of subjects is taken from a manuscript kindly furnished to 
me by the director of studies, M. Viguier ; it docs not agree precisely with tlie 
plan marked out in the regulations. 



NORMAL SCHOOL AT PARIS. 445 

At the end of the first year there arc examinations, according 
to the result of which the student passes to the courses of the 
second year, or, in the case before stated, to those of the third 
year, or leaves the school. These examinations are conducted 
by inspectors-general of the university, named for the purpose 
by the minister. Pupils who have passed, may present them- 
selves at the university as candidates for the degree of licentiate 
of letters. 

The second year's course of letters does not necessarily in- 
clude any scientific studies. 

The courses of language and philosophy go into the history of these subjects. 
They consist of — 1. Lectures on the history of Greek literature, three lessons 
per week. 2. On the history of Roman literature, two lessons. 3. On the 
history of French literature, one lesson. 4. English language, one lesson. 
5. On the history of philosophy, two lessons. 6. Continuation of the histori- 
cal course, two lessons. The recitations are accompanied by suitable written ex- 
ercises. 

At the end of the year the pupils are examined. Those who 
have not already obtained the des^rce of licentiate of letters are 
now required to do so, or to leave the school. 

The examinations for this degree consist of compositions in French and Latin 
prose, on different days. Latin verses and Greek themes. Explanations of se- 
lected passages from the second book of Herodotus, the speech of Pericles in 
Thucydides, the Gorgias of Plato, the speech of Demosthenes against Leptines, 
the chorusses of CEdipus at Colonos, the Hecuba of Euripides, the combat of 
Hercules and Amycus in Theocritus, the liymns of Synesius, Cicero de Oratore 
and de legibus, the Germany of Tacitus, the Treatise of Seneca de beneficiis, the 
last two books of Quintilian's Rhetoric, the fifth book of Lucretius de natura re- 
rum, the first book of Horace's Epistles, the second book of Horace's Odes, the 
Troas of Seneca. 

These books are liable to be changed, from time to time, on 
notice being given. The candidate is expected to answer the 
questions on philosophy, literature, history, and philology, to 
which the reading of the author may give rise. 

In the third year of letters, the courses are special, the divi- 
sions corresponding with the courses of the royal colleges, and 
consisting of grammar, humanities and rhetoric, history and 
philosophy. Each pupil takes his place in one or other of these 



446 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERrOD. 

divisions, and is not required to follow the courses of the 
others. 

The lectures and recitations constituting the entire course of letters of the 
third year were, during' the second half year of 1836-7: — 1. Latin lan- 
guage and grammar, three lessons. 2. Greek language, two lectures and one 
lesson. 3. Latin literature, two lectures and one lesson. 4. Greek literature, 
two lectures and one lesson. 5. Latin eloquence, two lectures. 6. Latin poetry, 
two lectures. 7. French literature, one lesson. 8. History of the philosophy 
of the ancients, two lectures. 9. Ancient geograpliy, two lectures. 10. 
Philosophy, one lesson. 11. Natural history, one lesson. The lectures al- 
luded to are those attended by the pupils at the Sorbonne. 

The following were the courses of the different years in the 
section of science during the same term, the lectures being 
those of the faculty of sciences of the university. 

First year. 1. Astronomy, two lessons per week. 2. Descriptive Gcomctrj', 
two lessons. 3. Chemistry, two lectures, one lesson, and four hours of manipula- 
tion. 4. Botany, one lesson. 5. Philosophy, two lessons. 6. German language, 
one lesson. 7. Drawing, one lesson during the week, and one on Sunday. 

Second year. 1. Physics, two lectures, two lessons, and one hour of manipu- 
lation. 2. Chemistry, two lectures. 3. Botany, one lesson. 4. Vegetable phy- 
siology, two lectures. 5. Calculus of probabilities, two lectures. 6. Differential 
and integral calculus, two lectures and two lessons. 7. Drawing, one lesson dur- 
ing the week, and one on Sunday. 

Third year. 1. Mechanics, four lectures and two lessons. 2, Chemical ana- 
lysis, two lectures and one hour of manipulation. 3. Chemistry, one lecture. 
4. Natural history, two lessons. 5. Geology, one lesson. G. Botany, one lesson. 
7. Drawing, one lesson. On Sunday, the pupils make botanical and geological 
excursions into the environs. 

The pupils undergo similar examinations to those of the 
section of letters, and before presenting themselves as candi- 
dates for the place of adjunct, they must have taken at least 
the degree of licentiate of sciences. They are, however, spe- 
cially relieved from the necessity of matriculating in those 
courses at the university which they attend in the school, and 
which otherwise would be necessary in order to obtain the de- 
gree of licentiate. These are, for the mathematical sciences, 
the differential and integral calculus and mechanics; for the 
physical sciences, physics and chemistry; and for the natural 
sciences, geology, botany, &c. The examination for the degree 



NORMAL SCHOOL AT PARIS. 447 

of licentiate of mathematical science may be made at the end 
of the second year, by pupils of this section of the normal 
school, and that for licentiate of physical science, at the close of 
the third year. 

The programmes of the several lessons* in both sections are 
prepared by the masters, and submitted to the council of public 
instruction every year before the beginning of the course. 

Besides these lectures and recitations, the pupils are required 
to attend such other lectures at the faculty of letters or of 
sciences of the university, or any other public institution, as 
may be designated to them. At the termination of the third 
year's course, in the month of July, they are examined in the 
school, and present themselves as competitors for the places of 
adjuncts, according to the special studies which they have pur- 
sued. 

The courses of the school are arranged in reference to the 
competition for these places, an account of the examinations 
for which has already been given in the general description of 
secondary instruction in France.f In this competition they are 
brought in contact with the best talent which has chosen a 
different road to preferment from that offered by the normal 
school. Success in this trial is, of course, not always a fair cri- 
terion of the state of the school, but certainly offers, on the ave- 
rage, an idea of the merits of its different departments, and is 
so used in directing their improvement. It may be of interest, 
therefore, to give the results of one of these competitions, namely, 
that for 1836. The judges of the competition for the places of 
adjuncts in philosophy report ten candidates for the six places; 
of these, five of the successful ones were from the normal school, 
but the first was from another institution. For six vacancies 
in the higher classes of letters there were thirty candidates ex- 
amined, and of these, two of the successful ones, including the 
first upon the list, were pupils of the school. For adjuncts in 
he sciences there were eight places and nineteen candidates, 

* A scries of programmes is given in full in M. Cousin's work, before referred 
to. 

t Sec this Report, pp. 426-7. 



448 GEXERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

the school furnishing six of the successful competitors, and 
among them the first on the list. In history and geography- 
there were eight candidates for five places; the institutions from 
which they came are, however, not stated. In grammar, there 
were forty-one candidates for eight places ; of the successful 
competitors the school sent five, and among them the first on 
the list. 

The keen nature of this competition, while it excites the pu- 
pils of the school to great exertion, produces a most deleterious 
effect upon the health of the more feeble. Indeed, their general 
appearance, when compared with those of other young men of 
the same age, is far from favourable. It is part of a system 
which is considered adapted to the national character, but 
which is certainly by no means a necessity for men in general, 
since the teachers of the German gymnasia are prepared with- 
out its severe pressure. 

The collections subsidiary to the instruction are: — 1st. A 
library of works relating to education and to the courses of 
study, which is open for two hours every day, and from which 
the students may receive books. This library is under the 
charge of the sub-director of studies. The students are, be- 
sides, furnished with the books which they use in their classes 
at the expense of the school, and which, unless injured, are 
returned by tnem after use. 2d. A small collection of physi- 
cal apparatus. 3d. A collection of chemical apparatus con- 
nected with a laboratory, for practice in manipulation. The 
courses of manipulation are not, however, carried out to their 
due extent, and the study-rooms are common to many indivi- 
duals. The pupils are divided into two sections for study, each 
of which is in charge of one of the superintending masters. 

Discipline. Though there are minute regulations for disci- 
pline, the age of the pupils and the character of their pursuits 
and expectations render the exercise of severity but little neces- 
sary. At the time of my visit to the school, in 1837, the youngest 
pupil was seventeen years of age, and there were but four of 
between eighteen and nineteen connected with it. 

Much difference of opinion exists as to whether the frequent 



NORMAL SCHOOL AT PARIS. 449 

permissions to individuals to leave the premises should not be 
replaced by excursions made by the whole of the pupils, under 
the supervision of an officer. At present, Sunday is a day of 
general leave of absence, and on Thursday afternoon indivi- 
dual permissions are freely granted by the director of studies. 
This institution occupies the same rank with those attached 
to some of the Prussian universities, and intended to prepare 
masters for the gymnasia. It has an advantage over them in 
the spirit produced by the greater numbers of its pupils, and 
by the closer connexion with the school, which results from 
their studying and residing within its walls. It is, in turn, in- 
ferior to the seminaries for secondary teachers at Berlin, in the 
absence of arrangements for practical teaching, and in even a 
more important respect, namely, the want of that religious mo- 
tive of action, which forms the characteristic of the Prussian 
system. The deficiencies of this great school, in regard to both 
religious and practical education, struck me, I must confess, very 
forcibly.* 

• In the general tenour of the foregoing remarks, I have the sanction of M. 
Coiisin, in the preface to his account of the normal school, already referred to. 



57 



450 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 



CHAPTER XII. 



SECONDARY INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. 

It is usual to confine the title of secondary schools to those 
which prepare for the learned professions, and in this view the 
only secondary instruction in Prussia is given in the gymnasia. 
But there is another class of institutions, which, according 
to the opinion already expressed, are as much entitled to 
be considered establishments for secondary instruction as the 
learned schools. These are the " real schools" (realschulen), 
of which the classes are parallel with those of the gymnasia in 
regard to age and attainment, and which prepare their pupils 
to engage in the business of life, in commerce or trade, or to 
pass to the special schools of architecture, engineering, manu- 
factures, &c.* The institution at Berlin, known as the trade 
school (gewerbschule), will, I think, be admitted to belong to 
the same class, and to present, in its own peculiar line, a de- 
velopment quite as much above that afforded by the primary 
schools, as is furnished by the gymnasia. These institutions 
can by no means be classed with the higher burgher schools, 
which have been already described, differing from them essen- 
tially in the extent of their courses and the age of their pupils. 
It is important not to confound the trade school just mentioned 
with other establishments, bearing the same name, in the pro- 
vinces of Prussia, and connected with the special school of 
mechanic arts and manufactures, called the trade institute 
(gewerbinstitut), at Berlin. 

* M. Guizot, in his reasons for the ministerial project of a law on secondary 
instruction in France, supports the view whicli is taken above, tiiat secondary 
instruction is not confmed to preparation for the learned professions, while M. 
Cousin, in his Memoir on Secondary Instruction in Prussia, does not admit the 
" real schools" into tiic secondary class. 



SECONDARY INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. 451 

DIVISION FIRST. 

SECONDARY INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. 

The public educational establishments of Prussia, though in 
general regulated by law, are not reduced to uniformity by it, 
the spirit of system not being allowed to check the growth of 
what is good. Thus it appears to me out of the question to 
consider secondary instruction as uniform, either as regulated 
by law or as existing in fact; and a very imperfect view would 
be given of even one branch of it, that which prepares for 
the learned professions, by attempting thus to present it. The 
very fact that the gymnasia are made provincial institutions, 
and not immediately dependant on the cental authority, implies 
varieties in the interior organization, as contemplated by the 
law itself. After a sketch of the general system of secondary 
instruction, I shall, therefore, give examples of different gymna- 
sia, which represent fairly the range of variety in these schools, 
and then establish a comparison between them and others of 
the same grade, which have been under discussion. Proceeding 
to the second division of this period of instruction, I shall furnish 
an example of the real school, and of the secondary trade school. 

The immediate authority superintending secondary instruc- 
tion is the school-board (schul-coUegium) of the province in 
which the gymnasium is situated. It will be recollected, that 
this school-board is a branch of the provincial consistory, of 
which the chief magistrate of the province, the higher presi- 
dent (ober-president), is the head. One of the councillors of 
the ministry of public instruction, at Berlin, is specially charged 
with the concerns of all the gymnasia,* and is the channel 
through which the provincial authorities communicate with the 
ministry. The school-board consists of the president and vice 
president of the provincial government, and of two school- 
councillors, and holds its meetings in the chief town of the pro- 
vince. They regulate the details of instruction and discipline 

* To this gentleman, Counsellor John Rchulze, I am indebted for introductions 
to the scliools of Berlin. 



452 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

in the gymnasia, correspond with the directors, appoint the 
teachers, except the director, who is appointed by the minis- 
ter, make visits of inspection, and attend the examinations, 
especially those for passing to the university, and authorize 
the books to be used in the school and placed in the library. 
The inspection of religious instruction belongs to the ecclesias- 
tical functionaries of the Protestant and Catholic churches 
severally.* The royal gymnasia are supported from the funds 
of the state and the payments of their pupils, and their receipts 
and expenditures, are under the charge of a special officer, or 
of the director. The funds of those which are otherwise en- 
dowed, are usually under the direction of a committee, or of 
one of the officers. In 1834 there were one hundred and 
twenty-four gymnasia in Prussia, attended, during the summer 
term, by twenty-four thousand four hundred and sixty-one stu- 
dents; seven hundred and thirty-eight students passed from their 
classes to the universities, twenty-three hundred and twenty-six 
to other occupations. There were thirteen hundred and thirty- 
four teachers in these establishments, or one teacher for about 
eighteen pupils. Although private institutions of this kind are 
allowed, they do not exist. The wants of the community are 
well supplied by the public establishments, some of which, as 
in the cities, are day, and others boarding-schools. Private 
secondary instruction is also permitted, the admission to the 
university depending upon qualifications shown on examination, 
and not on certificates of attendance at particular schools. 

Certain strictures upon the system pursued in the Prussian 
gymnasia induced a close inquiry by the ministry of public 
instruction into its eflfects upon mental, moral, and physical de- 
velopment, the result of which was a series of regulations, 
transmitted in 1837f to the provincial authorities, accompanied 
by remarks on the existing system. By following the current 
of the regulations and remarks, a good idea may be obtained 

* Statistisches Handbuch der deutschen Gymnasien herausgegebcn, von Prof. 
Dr, Brauns und Dr. Theobald. 

t I am indebted for this recent document, obtained in MS. wliile at Berlin, 
to the kindness of tlic Honourable Henry Wheaton, Minister of the United States 
to Prussia. 



GYMNASIA OF PRUSSIA. 453 

of the spirit in which the former are framed, of the arrange- 
ments which they are designed to effect, and of the objec- 
tions really existing, or urged unnecessarily, against the sys- 
tem of the gymnasia. This document embodies the expe- 
rience of this class of schools, and when accompanied by an 
account of the regulations for the final examinations at the 
gymnasia, and of the means for providing teachers, it furnishes 
a good idea of the general organization of secondary instruc- 
tion. The regulations embrace the following heads: — 1. Ad- 
mission of pupils. 2. Subjects of instruction. 3. Distribution 
of the teachers and of the subjects of the lessons. 4. The 
number of hours of teaching. 5. Studies out of school hours. 
6. Duration of the courses. 7. Remarks on the regulations for 
the examinations. 8. Rem.arks on the supposed defects of 
teachers, methods of instruction, &c. 9. Physical education. 
10. Religious instruction. The following is an abstract of the 
remarks upon these subjects: 

1. Admission. Experience has fully proved that the admission 
of pupils at a very early age into the gymnasia is prejudicial to 
the individuals themselves, as well as to the institutions. Neither 
the mental nor physical development, nor the attainment, at an 
early age, are adequate to the pursuit of the courses appro- 
priate to a gymnasium, and hence the admission of very young 
pupils induces an improper lowering of the standard of instruc- 
tion in these establishments. The ministry, therefore, recom- 
mends that pupils be not admitted at an earlier age than ten 
years, and that the following qualifications be required: 1. Fa- 
cility in logical and rhythmical reading, both in German and 
Roman text, and the rudiments of grammar and orthographic 
writing. 2. Writing from dictation. 3. Practice in the four 
ground rules of arithmetic, with abstract numbers, and first 
principles of fractions. 4. Elements of geography, particu- 
larly that of Europe. 5. Stories of the Old Testament, and 
life of Christ. 6. Elementary notions of drawing and of form. 

Two errors on the part of parents are pointed out by the 
ministry, the influence of whose advice is directed against 
them: — The first is, that children of feeble bodily constitutions 
should be devoted to literary pursuits; the second, that young 



454 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

men who have passed the appropriate age for instruction may 
be advantageously pushed into one of the learned professions, 
even if they are required to teach in order to obtain the needful 
education. 

2. Subjects of mstniction. As the ground-work of higher in- 
struction, the following subjects are recommended to be pur- 
sued in the gymnasia: — 1. Religious instruction. 2. German. 
3. Latin. 4. Greek. 5. Mathematics. 6. Physics. 7. Natural his- 
tory. 8. Geography. 9. History. 10. Writing. 11. Drawing. 
12. Vocal music. Experience has shown that these subjects 
are particularly calculated to develope the intellectual powers, 
and to give a systematic and practical preparation for the 
higher studies. The same cannot be said of the Hebrew, the 
study of which is specially appropriate only to theologians. A 
knowledge of the French is not considered essential to the true 
purpose of a gymnasium. This language has been made a 
subject of public instruction on account of its usefulness in 
after life, and not of its correctness or purity. With the ex- 
ception of these two languages, the subjects enumerated above 
have always been taught in the gymnasia, though in variable 
proportions. No one of them could, with propriety, be omit- 
ted, and propositions to that effect will receive no countenance. 
The ministry does not fear that injury will result to the mental | 
or physical development of the pupils, by pursuing all the| 
branches in their appropriate degree, but teachers are can-' 
tioned against attempts to push one subject at the expense of 
another; being reminded that the course should be viewed as a 
whole, which must suffer by the unequal forcing of its parts. 
The directors of gymnasia are especially required to attend to 
this point, and the school-boards are requested to relieve them 
from teaching, as far as may be necessary to the inspection 
thus required. 

If the subjects of instruction, as here laid down, be compared 
with those of the secondary schools of England, it will be 
found that what is there regarded as innovation, has been suc- 
cessfully used as the course of grammar school instruction in 
Germany. That the efficiency of the course is confirmed by 
long experience, and that the subjects are recommended, anew, 



GYMNASIA OF PRUSSIA. 455 

as the future course of those institutions. While ancient letters 
are successfully cultivated, other subjects are not neglected, but 
their equal importance with the former is clearly asserted, and 
as clearly proved by results. While the Germans have lost 
nothing in general literary culture by this system, they have 
gained much in other departments of knowledge. 

The scholastic year is divided into two terms, or half years, 
at the close of each of which there is an examination. At 
the end of the second half-year, the examinations for passing 
from one class to another are held. The usual vacations are 
two weeks at Easter, one at Whitsuntide, three in August, one 
at Michaelmas, and two at Christmas. 

3. Distribution of the teachers and of the subjects of instruc- 
tion. There are, in general, six classes in a gymnasium, of 
which the lowest is called sixth, and the highest first. To pro- 
duce a harmony in the methods and degree of instruction, 
notwithstanding the variety of subjects taught, it has, for some 
time, been the custom in the Prussian gymnasia to assign 
several subjects of instruction to the same teacher, in the same 
class. This arrangement is confirmed in the document under 
discussion. It is recommended that similar subjects of instruc- 
tion be classed together, to constitute a department, as, for 
example, German and Latin; history, geography and natural 
history; and mathematics and physics. That then the instruc- 
tion of one or more classes, in one department, be consigned to 
one teacher: as the instruction of the lower classes in German 
and Latin; of the two middle classes in Latin, Greek, and 
French ; of the two higher in German, Greek, and French ; of 
the lower and middle classes in history and geography ; of the 
higher classes in mathematics, physics, and mental philosophy. 
The number of teachers would thus be, in general, in a gym- 
nasium of six classes, two for the two lower classes, three for 
the two middle, and four for the two higher classes. 

The ministry further recommended that kindred subjects be 
taught in different parts of the same term, rather than on dif- 
ferent .days of the same week, as geography at the beginning 
of a term, and history at the close ; a Latin and Greek j)rose 



456 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

author at the beginning of a term, and a poetical author at the 
close of the term, &c. 

With a view to induce teachers to take upon themselves 
the arduous duties of a department, or class teacher, as just 
explained, the school-board are recommended to promote 
teachers according to merit, not confining their promotion to 
the institution in which they may be, but taking the entire 
range of the province. A promise is made by the ministry to 
pay strict attention to this rule, in promoting to vacant situa- 
tions of directors of gymnasia. The class teachers are to have 
the title of " upper teachers" (ober-lehrer), the others being 
designated simply as " teachers." 

It is obvious that very varied attainments are thus required of 
the regular, or class teachers, and that the difficulty of finding per- 
sons competent to discharge these duties increases very much 
as the grade of instruction becomes more elevated. Hence the 
practice in the gymnasia varies very materially from this 
recommendation. It is so desirable, in the higher classes, that 
the teacher should devote much time to his own improvement 
in the knowledge of his branch of instruction, and that he 
should have a strong taste for its cultivation, that in general it 
is found advisable to confine his attention to a single subject, 
or to subjects much nearer akin than those which are classed 
together in the enumeration just made. This is particularly 
the case in the mathematics, beyond the mere elements, the 
physics and physical geography, the natural history, the less 
elementary parts of drawing, and vocal music. In the case of 
the French language, a special teacher, from the very begin- 
ning, is absolutely necessary, if the instruction in it is to be any 
thing more than a matter of form. 

4. JVimiher of hours of recitation. This is fixed at thirty- 
two per week ; a number which experience has shown may 
with propriety be exacted of students, and which is requisite to 
complete the course of studies. In the French colleges there 
are but twenty hours of regular obligatory instruction per 
week. This difference alone would go far to explain the rea- 
son for the fact, thai in the gymnasia, the written course of 



GYMNASIA OF PRUSSIA. 457 

studies is closely followed in all its departments, while in the 
royal colleges it is but partially carried out. That in the for- 
mer, all branches are deemed worthy of attention, while in the 
latter, in practice, some are treated as if they were not appro- 
priate parts of a regular course of studies. The Prussian 
ministry asserts, very justly, that four hours every morning, and 
two hours in the afternoon, four times a week, may be passed 
in a well ventilated school-room, without injury to health. The 
condition in regard to ventilation is, however, essential to the 
truth of the proposition ; it is easily realized in the gymnasia, 
on account of the small number constituting each class. I found, 
in fact, generally, but little objection to the arrangements, in this 
respect, in these institutions. 

I had reason to remark, in the city gymnasia of Prussia^ 
in general, that the appearance of the upper classes betokened 
a higher state of health than that of the lower, which would 
not have been the case had they been overworked. The men- 
tal labour, on the part of the student, indicated by thirty-two 
hours per week spent in school, is less than it would be from the 
same time in an English grammar school, or in one of our 
own establishments of the same grade, from the mode of teach- 
ing. Much of the instruction is communicated by conversa- 
tion and by lecture, during the school hours, which are thus 
devoted to acquiring knowledge as well as to reciting what has 
been learned by study at other times. The school-boards are 
requested not to allow this time of thirty-two hours per week 
to be exceeded, and a general plan for the distribution of time, 
which will be given below, is appended to the instructions. This 
plan, however, may be modified according to the circum- 
stances of the institution to which it is to be adapted, preserv- 
ing, however, the number of hours devoted to religious instruc- 
tion, to the languages and mathematics, as cardinal points in 
the system. It is deemed unnecessary to begin the French 
earher than in the third class, which would postpone it as late as 
thirteen years of age. Natural history may be substituted for 
physics in the second class, and a general review of that branch, 
as studied in the previous years, is recommended. Drawing 
58 



458 



GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 



and vocal music are intended to be carried so far as that the 
upil may follow them to advantage if his tastes incline that way. 
The ministry recommends that where several hours per 
week are devoted to a subject, more than one each day should 
be given to it, so as to concentrate tlie attention upon a few 
branches eveiy day. 

Plan of studies arranged for the Gymnasia of Prussia by the Ministry of Pub- 
lic Instruction, October 24tli, 1837. 



SUBJECTS OF STUDY, &c. 



NUMBER OF HOURS PER WEEK. 



6 J= 



Latin, ......... 

Greek, 

German, 

French, ....--.-- 

Religious Instruction, . . - - 

Mathematics, 

Arithmetic and Elements of Form, 

Physics, -- 

Philosophy, 

History and Geography, . . - 

Natural History, 

Drawing, 

Writing, - 

Vocal Music, 



Hebrew for the future Theologians, 



30 



30 



10 10 



32 



32 



10 



32 



10 



32 



GYMNASIA OF PRUSSIA. 459 

After tracing the particulars of the courses of some of the Ger- 
man gymnasia, we shall be better able than now to make a com- 
parison between them and the institutions already described, as 
the extent and distribution of the several courses, in addition to 
the time devoted to each, will then be known. I may remark, in 
the mean time, however, that the subjects taught are not very 
different from those constituting the course of the French col- 
leges, and that in reference to British schools, the amount of 
time devoted to different subjects, as well as the choice of sub- 
jects, more nearly resembles the Edinburgh Institution, already 
described, than one of the endowed English grammar schools. 
5. Study out of school hours. On this subject the ministry re- 
marks, that while it is highly important that the pupil should 
have preparation to make, requiring the exercise of his own 
resources, it is not less so that the amount of private study 
should not be carried to an injurious extent. The regulations, 
therefore, provide that at the beginning of each term there 
shall be a conference of the teachers, to determine the due 
amount of such work in the different classes, in detail. Every 
teacher should keep a book, in which the exercises actually 
given are accurately noted, so that the director may see at 
any time how far the decisions of the conference have been 
conformed to. The written exercises of the pupils must be 
regularly corrected by the teachers, and at least once a month 
they must review the exercise-books, to ascertain the progress 
and the propriety of the exercises. German and Latin compo- 
sitions are to be especially attended to. Themes on subjects 
with which the pupils are not acquainted, so that they must 
labour both for the matter and language, are forbidden. The 
teacher should not only select subjects known to the pupils for 
these exercises, but should also explain the manner in which he 
expects them to be treated. 

6. Duration of the courses. The six classes should, accord- 
ing to rule, be passed through in nine years; the three lower, 
each, in one year, and the three higher, each, in two years ; thus 
a pupil entering at ten would leave the gymnasium at nineteen. 
The provincial school-board may determine the period of the 



4G0 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

year for the examinations for passing from class to class. In 
the gymnasia, where the classes are subdivided on account of 
numbers, and the pupils pass from one section to another at 
the end of six months, the arrangement is permitted to be con- 
tinued. 

Superior excellence in a few departments is not to warrant 
the promotion of the pupil to a higher class; he must be reason- 
ably proficient in all. 

7. Examination for the university. The regulations of 1834, 
on this subject, are confirmed by the present ; certain erroneous 
constructions, which have been put upon the former, being point- 
ed out. The first of these is, the supposition that the amount 
which the pupils are able to go ov^er, during the time fixed for 
examination, determines the character of their certificate of ca- 
pacity, while, on the contrary, this is given for the general know- 
ledge of the subjects which they show. The fact that this ex- 
amination requires a previous attendance of two years in the first 
class, is considered as indicating positively that the course of that 
class cannot be intended to drill for the examination. The next 
refers to the specific direction in regard to the extent of exami- 
nation on the different subjects, which being intended as a 
general guide to the examiners, has been misconstrued so far 
as to be supposed to furnish teachers who are preparing pupils 
the means of imparting the least amount of knowledge consistent 
with their passing. The ministry considers that the qualifica- 
tions for the final examination have stood the test of experi- 
ence, having been found not too high and calculated to promote 
sound instruction and not hasty preparation. As, however, the 
excitement of these examinations appears to act injuriously on 
certain temperaments, the ministry authorizes the examining 
commissions to reduce the viva voce parts of the examination, 
in cases where they see cause to do so. The ministry declines 
omitting the examination on the course of religious instruction. 

8. Supposed defects of teachers, ^-c. The ministry states, 
as the remark of many intelligent persons, that while so much 
progress has been made within the last twenty years in the 
elementary schools, many of the teachers of the gymnasia, ne- 



GYMNASIA OF PRUSSIA. 461 

glecting the progress of the science of teaching, still follow the 
old routine methods; that the teachers overrate the importance 
of their special branches, and thus destroy the harmony of the 
system: that they imitate the style of lecturing of the university 
professors, which renders their explanations ill adapted to the 
age and state of progress of their pupils, and when, in conse- 
quence, their pupils get on slowly, instead of seeing in this fact 
the necessity for a change of method, they charge the fault upon 
the classes. The ministry remarks that it has not the means 
of judging personally whether such criticisms are well founded 
or not, but that the provincial school-boards, to whom they have 
been submitted, are of opinion that, in general, they are too 
severe. They are made public, however, that the teachers of 
the gymnasia may reflect upon them. 

No specific method of instruction, it is remarked, applicable 
to all varieties of age, preparation, and subjects of study, can 
be pointed out. Every teacher should observe, closely, the 
results of his instruction, and adopt freely the advice or exam- 
ple of teachers of known ability in their art. The directors of 
gymnasia are especially enjoined to visit the classes of their 
teachers frequently, and to make such suggestions as may seem 
to be required ; they are further expected to set an example 
themselves of thorough teaching. The ministry considers that 
the system of class teachers, already described, facilitates the 
course of observation recommended, by giving the teacher a 
thorough acquaintance with all the members of his class. The 
importance of making the science of teaching one of observa- 
tion is thus directly inculcated. 

The probation of a year, required by the decree of Septem- 
ber 26th, 1836, before the admission of a teacher to full standing, 
being intended to prevent the admission of incompetent teach- 
ers, the provincial school-boards are enjoined to give effect to 
the provision, by promoting to the situations of ordinary or 
class teachers (ordinarii), tiiose only who have shown decided 
capability in their art. The ministry promises to give such an 
extension to the normal schools for teachers of gymnasia, as 
shall insure an adequate supply from them. 



462 GENERAL EDUCATIOIf. SECOIfDARY PERIOD. 

The provincial boards are enjoined to see that suitable books 
are provided for the gymnasia, and to attend to regulating 
the details of the programmes of the different classes. This 
authority obviously leaves the most essential points of instruc- 
tion within their power. 

9. Physical education. On this subject, the document from 
the ministry states that representations have been made from 
many of the directors and teachers of gymnasia, that physical 
education should be introduced as an essential part of their 
systems. The necessity for due physical development is ad- 
mitted ; but it is argued, that in the gymnasia which receive 
day scholars alone, an attention to it forms no part of the duty 
of the teacher, who is merely bound to furnish the requisite 
time for recreation, and to take care that the health of the 
pupils is not injured during the hours of recitation by causes 
depending upon the school. In the boarding gymnasia the case 
is admitted to be different. A continuance of gymnastic exer- 
cises in these establishments, when they have been tried and 
found beneficial, is allowed, but the compulsory attendance 
of day scholars upon them is not permitted. When regular 
gymnastic exercises are introduced, it is made the duty of the 
school-board to see that a proper teacher is provided, and the 
exercises must be conducted under charge of the director of 
the institution. 

I confess, that the idea of leaving the physical education of 
children entirely to their parents, especially in the cities and 
towns where the day gymnasia are usually established, seems 
to me very unwise; particularly so in Prussia, where all else 
is regulated, and where the youth are always glad to engage 
in gymnastic exercises, when the means are furnished to them. 

10. Religious education. It is enjoined that this contain the 
whole doctrine of Christian faith, and that the instruction be 
given according to a regular plan. 

The provincial authorities are charged with the communica- 
tion of the foregoing regulations to the directors and teachers 
of the gymnasia, and with the superintendence of their execu- 
tion. 



GYMNASIA OF PRUSSIA. 463 

The circular, of which I have just given an abstract, is silent 
in regard to the subject of the discijiline of the gymnasia, proba- 
bly because it was considered by all as in a satisfactory state. 
In general it is very mild. Each instructor manages his class 
in his own way, subject to the advice of the director, and 
hence, of course, there is considerable variety. Harsh punish- 
ments, and personal violence, are discountenanced in all the 
classes. Appeals to the moral sentiments and feelings, and 
admonitions, are the' favourite methods of discipline. I no where 
saw the discipline in better condition than in these schools, the 
youth of the upper class, especially, going through their duties 
without the necessity for more than occasional admonition, and 
exhibiting the decorum of gentlemen in whatever situation I 
met them. The director is the supreme resort when a teacher 
fails in being able to produce proper conduct on the part of a 
pupil, and he may dismiss from the institution. This, however, 
I was informed, is rarely necessary. 

From the remarks on the part which the director of a gym- 
nasium takes in the discipline, and the references made to his 
relation to the teachers in their several departments, the organ- 
ization of the institution may be inferred. The director, in 
fact, represents the central authority, from which his appoint- 
ment emanates, and the teachers are directly responsible to 
him, holding meetings only for specific purposes in regard to 
the regulation of the course of studies. The system of organ- 
ization of the school resembles that of the government. 

The means of securing attention to study do not differ from 
those in other countries, and already often alluded to. The 
system of excitement is carried to a far less extent, in gene- 
ral, than in the French colleges. Emulation is encouraged, 
but not stimulated into ambition. In the lower classes, the 
pupils change places during the daily recitations; afterwards, 
they are arranged by monthly trials of composition, and at the 
examinations; and in the higher classes, from the same com- 
positions, and from the results of their marks for daily recita- 
tion, and at the half yearly examinations. Prizes are not 



464 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

given as a general rule, though there are some special ones in 
certain gymnasia. 

This outline of the system of the gymnasia, as regulated by 
the central authority, requires, as already stated, to complete 
it, some account of the regulations for the final examinatioE 
prior to passing to the university (abiturienten-priifung), and ol 
the means of providing teachers. The regulations for the final 
examination occupy fifty sections, and enter into very minute 
details; it will be sufficient for the present purpose to present an 
abstract of the more important of them under the following 
heads : — 1. The persons to be examined, the object, place, and 
time of the examination. 2. The authorities by whom, and 
under whose direction, the examination is to be conducted. 
3. The character and subjects of the examination. 4. The 
kind of certificate obtained on passing the examination satis- 
factorily, and the privileges attached to it. 

First. The persons to be examined, &c. Those who in- 
tend to embrace one of the professions requiring a course of 
■ three or four years at a university, must, before matriculating 
at the university, pass the ordeal of this examination ; the object 
being to ascertain whether the candidate has made himself 
duly master of the subjects required for successful entrance 
upon his university career. The examination must be made in 
a regular gymnasium, and in some part of the last two months 
of the scholastic year. " 

To be admitted to the examination, a pupil of a gymnasium 
must have been in its first class at least three terms of half a 
year each, except in cases where pupils have especially distin- 
guished themselves during a year in this class. Three months^ 
notice of their intention to stand this examination is to be given 
by the pupils to the director of the gymnasium, who advises 
with them on their intention, but has no right to prevent any 
pupil of three terms' standing in the first class from coming 
forward. 

Persons who are educated in private undergo this same ex- 
amination in any gymnasium which their parents may select. 
They are required to present beforehand the certificate of their 



GVMNASIA OF PRUSSIA. 465 

masters as to moral conduct and proficiency, and are examined 
ait a different time from tiie regular students. 

Second. By whom the examination is conducted. There is 
a committee for each gymnasium, consisting of the director, the 
masters who have charge of the higher classes, a member of 
the ecclesiastical authority of the place, and a member of the 
provincial consistory. This latter member presides, and his 
appointment must be approved by the ministry of public in- 
struction. The ecclesiastical member must be approved by the 
provincial consistory. Besides these, there is a royal commis- 
sion appointed by the ministry, and consisting of professors of 
the university and others, who are present as inspectors at the 
examination. The teachers of the gymnasium and the local 
authorities of the school are also present at the oral exami- 
nations. 

Third. Character and subjects of examination. The exami- 
tions are of two kinds, written and oral. The subjects are, the 
German, Latin, Greek, and French languages,* for students in 
general, and in addition, the Hebrew for those who intend to 
study theology. Religion, history and geography, mathematics, 
physics, natural history, and the elements of mental philosophy. 
The subjects of the written examination are chosen by the 
royal commissary present, from a list furnished by the director 
of the gymnasium. These subjects must be such as have 
never been treated specially in the class-room, but not beyond 
the sphere of instruction of the pupils. All the candidates re- 
ceive the same subjects for composition, whicli are given out at 
the beginning of the examination. The candidates are assem- 
bled in one of the Imlls of the gymnasium, and remain there 
during the period allotted for their exercises under the charge 
of one or other of the examining teachers, who relieve each 
other. The only books allowed them are dictionaries and ma- 
thematical tables. The written exercises consist, first, in a 
German prose composition, the object of which is to discern 
the degree of intellectual development, and the style of com- 



* In the grand ducliv of Poscn, the Polish language is also one of tlic subjects. 
51) 



466 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECOIVDARY PERIOD. 

position of the candidate. Second: of a Latin extempore* and 
u Latin composition on some subject which has been treated in 
the course, the special reference in this exercise being to the cor- 
rectness of the style. Third : a translation from a Greek author, 
which has not been read in the course, and from Latin into 
Greek. Fourth: a translation from the German into the French. 
Fifth: the solution of two questions in geometry, and of two in 
analysis, taken from the courses in those subjects. Candidates 
who desire it, may be examined further than is required for 
passing. 

Those who intend to study theology or philology, translate 
a portion of one of the historical books of the Old Testament, 
or a psalm, into Latin, adding a grammatical analysis. The 
time allowed for the several written exercises is as follows: — 
For the German, five hours; Latin composition, five hours; 
Latin extempore, one hour; Greek translation, three hours; 
translation from Latin into Greek, two hours; French composi- 
tion, four hours; mathematical exercises, five hours; Hebrew 
exercises, when required, two hours. Four days are allowed 
for the examination in these subjects, and they must not imme- 
diately follow each other. The viva voce examination is con- 
ducted by the masters who have given instruction in the first 
class on the subjects of examination, unless the royal commis- 
sary directs otherwise. The subjects are, first, the general 
grammar and prosody of the German language, the chief 
epochs of national history and Uterature, and the national clas- 
sics. Second: the translation and analysis of extracts from 
Cicero, Sallust, Livy, Virgil, and Llorace; the ability of the 
candidates to render the author with judgment and taste being 
put to the test, as well as their grammatical and archeological 
acquirements; parts of the examination are conducted in the 
Latin language. Third: the translation and analysis of Greek 
prose and of portions of Homer, with questions upon Greek 
grammar, Grecian history, arts, and mythology. Fourth: 



* An exercise in wliich the master speaks in German to the pupil, who must 
render the German into Latin, in writing. 



GYMNASIA OF PRUSSIA. 467 

translations from the French classics, during which an oppor- 
tunity is given to the pupil to show how far he can speak the 
language. Fifth: questions upon the Christian doctrines, dog- 
mas and morals, the principal epochs in the history of the Chris- 
tian church, and the Bible. Sixth: arithmetic, the elements of 
algebra and geometry, the binomial theorem, simple and quad- 
ratic equations, logarithms and plane trigonometry. Seventh: 
in history and geography, on ancient history, especially that of 
Greece and Rome, and modern history, especially that of the 
country, on physical, mathematical, and political geography. 
Eighth: in natural history, on the general classification of its 
subjects. Ninth: in such portions of physics as can be treated 
by elementary mathematics, and on the laws of heat, light, 
magnetism, and electricity. Tenth ; on the elements of moral 
philosophy, psychology, and logic. The future theological stu- 
dent must, besides, translate and analyse a portion of one of 
the historical books of the Old Testament. 

Fourth. The kind of certificate obtained, and the privileges at- 
tached to it. When the examination is closed, the board already 
alluded to as conducting and superintending it, deliberates upon 
the notes which have been taken during its course, each mem- 
ber having a vote. Those students who are deemed to have 
passed a satisfactory examination, receive a certificate called a 
"certificate of maturity" (maturitiits-zeugniss), the others are 
remanded to their class, and may present themselves, after an 
interval of six iPionths, for another examination, unless they 
are deemed entirely incompetent to continue a literary career. 
Proficiency in all the subjects of examination is, In general, re- 
quired to entitle a candidate to a certificate, but exception is 
sometimes made in favour of those who show great attainments 
in the languages or mathematics; and in the case of students of 
a somewhat advanced age, the direct bearing of the diflerent 
subjects upon the profession which they intend to embrace is 
considered. The daily records of the class-rooms are presented 
by the director of the gymnasium to the examiners, as showing 
the character of the candidates in regard to progress and con- 
duct, these points being specially noted in the certificate. The 



468 GENERAL EUUCATIOy. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

certificate of maturity contains, besides, the name and address of 
the pupil, and of his parent or guardian; the time during which 
he has been at the gymnasium, and in its first class; the con- 
duct of the pupil towards his fellows and masters, and his 
moral deportment in general; his character for industry, and 
his acquirements, as shown at the examination, specifying the 
result in each branch, and adding a statement from the mas- 
ters of drawing and music of his proficiency in their respective 
departments; the studies which he proposes to prosecute at the 
university, and to commence which he leaves the gymnasium. 
These certificates are delivered in an assemblage of the stu- 
dents of the gymnasium with suitable remarks. The certificate 
of maturity is necessary to enable a youth to be matriculated 
in either of the faculties of theology, law, medicine, and phi- 
lology, in one of the national universities, to be admitted to 
examination for an academic degree, to be appointed to office 
in state or church, or to obtain one of the royal bursaries at 
the universities. Special exception in regard to matriculation 
may be made by authority of the minister of public instruction. 
Students who have not passed a satisfactory examination, and 
whose parents demand it, are entitled to a certificate, stating 
the branches in which they are deficient; they may enter the 
university wdth this, and are registered accordingly. This 
registry enables them, if they subsequently obtain a certificate 
of maturity, and the special permission of the minister of public 
instruction, to have their matriculation dated from the time of 
inscription. Pupils who have passed through the third class of 
a gymnasium are entitled to claim one year of voluntary mili- 
tary service, provided they report themselves at a specified 
time during their twentieth year. 

There are two kinds of schools devoted to the preparation of 
teachers for the gymnasia, called respectively philological and 
pedagogical seminaries (philologische seminare, padagogische 
seminare). One of the first kind is attached to the universities 
of Berlin, Bonn, Breslaw, Halle, Konigsberg, and Greifswalde, 
and one of the second is placed at Berlin, Stettin, Breslaw, 
Halle, Konigsberg, and Miinsfer. Besides these, there is a 



GYMNASIA OF PRUSSIA. 469 

seminary for teachers of natural philosophy and the natural 
sciences, at Bonn.* The number of students in these semina^ 
ries is limited, not exceeding eight in general, and as their 
organization will doubtless be much changed when the pro- 
mise contained in the circular to the provincial authorities, 
with an abstract of which this article begins, is performed, I 
have concluded to omit any special description of them. Candi- 
dates, as instructors in the gymnasia, are examined by a royal 
scientific commission, in behalf of the provincial school-board. 
This commission is composed of professors of the universities. 
The examinations are of different grades, but of these only the 
first is obligatory; the teacher being thus enabled to enter the 
career of instruction, in which he shows his powers quite as 
well as by examination. First, for license to teach (pro facul- 
tate docendi), the teacher being attached or unattached. This, 
when complete, includes an examination in the German lan- 
guage, Greek, Latin, French, Hebrew, mathematics, physics 
and natural history, history and geography, philosophy, peda^ 
gogy and theology, with specimens of reading. The grade of 
examination differs according to whether the candidate wishes 
authority to teach in the lower, middle, or higher classes. 
After passing this examination, a year's trial is necessary be-f 
fore the teacher can be confirmed in any place. This year of 
probation may dispense with the following or second exami- 
nation, which, however, cannot take place before its expiration. 
The second examination is for a place (pro loco), in which 
the fitness of the candidate for a particular situation is tried. 
The third is for promotion (pro ascensione), and consists 
usually in a conference with the members of the commission, 
The fourth is for the directorship (colloquium pro rectoratu). 
These three examinations may be necessary, in certain cases, 
to protect the schools on the one hand, and individual teachers 
on the other, but it is easy to see that in general they may be 
dispensed with, and this, in fact, is usually done. 



* Statistisches Handbuch der deutschen Gymnasicn, von Prof. Dr. Braunsund 
Dr. Theobald, 1837, p. 40. 



470 GENERAL EDUCATIOX. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

The latitude allowed by the Prussian regulations to the inte- 
rior organization of the gymnasia, produces varieties which will 
be illustrated by describing the courses of three gymnasia, of 
which one (the gymnasium at Pforta), leans very far towards 
the strict classical system ; a second (the Frederick William 
gymnasium at Berlin), represents the average system of the 
Prussian institutions of this grade, and a third (the real gym- 
nasium of Berlin), is the opposite of the first. The Frederick 
William gymnasium of Berlin is the representative of a class 
containing no less than five individuals in the capital itself, 
while the real gymnasium stands, thus far, alone in its arrange- 
ments. Both these gymnasia are day-schools, while that of 
Schulpforta, one of the old Saxon " prince schools," is a board- 
ing-school, and will afford some useful hints in regard to internal 
organization. 

Some of the philologists of Germany, especially of southern 
Germany, consider that injurious changes have been made in 
the pure classical system of the gymnasia by the Prussian 
schools, while some of the reformers consider them as not 
going far enough in their changes. Reason will be found, as 
usual, between the extremes of party opinions, and sustains the 
plan of the Prussian schools. 

Frederick William Gymnasium of Berliiv.— This institution 
dates from 1797, and was at first an appendage to the "real 
school" of Mr. Hecker. It is now a royal institution, and 
is independent of the real school, except so far that it has 
the same director,* and that the preparatory classes are in 
the real school, in which, or in other equivalent schools, the 
pupils are taught until ten years of age. The qualifications 
for admission are those contained in the general account of 
the gymnasia. This gymnasium had, in 1837, four hundred 
and thirty-seven pupils, divided into six classes, and instructed 
by fourteen teachers and six assistants. The second and 
third classes are subdivided into two parts, called upper and 



* Director Spillckc, to whom I am indebted for opportunities of visiting 
both institutions, and for printed and MS. documents relating to them. 



FREDERICK WILLIAM GYMNASIUM OF BERLIN. 471 

lower, pursuing different courses, and both divisions of the 
third class are again subdivided into two others, for the con- 
venience of instruction. The course in each class occupies a 
year, except in the first, which is of two years. Pupils who 
enter in the lowest class, and go regularly through the studiesy 
will thus remain nine years in the gymnasium. The numbers 
of the several classes in 1837 were, in the first, fifty-four; in 
the upper second, thirty-two; lower second, forty-seven; upper 
third division, first, or A, thirty-six; second division, or B, 
thirty-six; lower third, division first, or A, thirty-eight; division 
second, or B, thirty-two; fourth class, fifty-five; fifth, fifty- 
seven ; and sixth, fifty. Each division averages, therefore, nearly 
forty-four pupils, who are at one time under the charge of 
one teacher. One hundred and eight were admitted during 
the year, and the same number left the gymnasium; of these, 
twenty-one received the certificate of maturity to pass to the 
university, viz., ten who intended to study law, three medicine, 
five theology, one theology and philology, one philosophy, and 
one political economy, finance, &c., (cameralistic). Of these all 
but five were two years in the first class; out of this number two 
were two years and a-half in the first class, and three more had 
been in the gymnasium less than two years, having entered it in 
the first class. The average age at leaving the gymnasium 
was nearly nineteen years, and the greatest and least, respect- 
ively, twenty-two and between sixteen and seventeen years. It 
appears, thus, that on the average, the pupils actually enter at 
ten, and remain nine years, as required by rule. 

The Cologne Real Gymnasium. — This name is explained, 
the former part by the quarter of the city of Berlin in which the 
institution is placed, and the term " real" from the introduction 
of a greater amount of the scientific branches, called " real,'* 
than is contained in the courses of the gymnasia in general. 
This institution was placed upon its present footing in 1824, 
and received its full development in 1829.=^ 

* It was founded by Professor Fischer, well known by his work on physics, 
and is now directed by his son-in-law, Dr. Auijust, who has followed in the steps 
of Fischer in matters both of science and education. 



472 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

The admission of pupils takes place twice a-yeav, namely, 
at Easter and in October. The limits of age beyond which a 
youth cannot enter are eight and thirteen years. The qualifi- 
cations are nearly those already referred to. 

There were, in 1836-7, three hundred and ninety-nine pupils 
in this institution, divided into six classes, and instructed by 
eleven teachers and ten assistants. The second, third, and 
fourth classes are divided into two parts, forming, in fact, like 
the divisions in the other gymnasium, distinct classes. The 
number of the several classes are: first class, twenty-one; upper 
second class, twenty-three; lower second class, fourteen; upper 
third class, forty; lower third, sixty-six; fourth class, division A, 
sixty-nine; fourth class, division B, sixty-four; fifth class, fifty- 
nine ; sixth class, forty-three. There is the mark of a rising in- 
stitution in the large numbers of the lower classes. In 1835, 
eight pupils passed to the university, and in 1836 four, and 
at the same time, the same number went to other avocations 
with certificates. 

The Gymnasium of Pforta originated in the sequestration of 
the funds of a monastery, by the electoral Prince Maurice of 
Saxony, to the purposes of education. The first pupils were 
admitted in 1543. In 1815 the school passed under the autho- 
rity of the Prussian government, and the courses were assimi- 
lated to those of the other gymnasia of Prussia.* The founda- 
tion yields a revenue of about thirty thousand dollars per an- 
num. The number of pupils, in 1838, was one hundred and 
eighty, to which it is restricted. Of these one hundred and 
sixty-nine are in part or entirely beneficiaries. These are 
called "alumni," or "intraners," while the others, termed "ex- 
traners," receive their education free, but lodge in the houses 
of the professors.f 

Pupils are admitted by the provincial school-board at Mag- 

* To the present rector, Dr. Kirchnor, I am indebted for a very kind recep- 
tion at this school, the more acceptable that, during- the winter, at which time 
my visit was made, the village near is quite out of the way of ordinary travel, 
and but scantily provided with accommodation adapted to the season. 

t Paying one hundred and seventy-five dollars per annum for lodging, &c. 



GVMNASIUM AT SCHULPFORTA. 473 

deburgh, ia part on direct application, and in part on the pre- 
sentation of certain communes of the province of Saxony, who 
have a right to the places. The rules of application having 
been fulfilled, and the claim of the applicant found valid, he is 
sent by the school-board to Pforta for examination. This re- 
quires the qualifications for the third class of an ordinary gym- 
nasium, only the three uppeV classes existing in this school, and 
is very rigid. 

The two lower classes of the school are subdivided in the 
same manner as the second and third in the gymnasia gene- 
rally. The instructors are a rector, an inspector, six professors, 
and four adjuncts, besides four masters for vocal music, writing, 
drawing, and dancing. The course in each entire class is two 
years, so that in six years an intelligent and industrious pupil 
may pass through the gymnasium. The numbers of these 
classes and divisions were, in 1837, after the Easter examina- 
tion — first class, thirty-five; second class. A, twenty-one; second 
class, B, thirty-one; third class. A, forty-two; third class, B, 
forty-four; total, one hundred and seventy-three. In the same 
year there were twenty-two graduates ; of these, seven passed 
to the university to study medicine, four to study law, four law 
and political economy, three theology, one law and philosophy, 
one philology, one philology and natural philosophy, and one 
philology and mathematics. 

To give the pupils of the highest class an opportunity to 
review the minutice of their grammar studies in the classics, as 
well as to relieve the professors, six hours of special recitation 
are made by each of the two divisions of the third class, four 
in Latin and two in Greek to members of the first class. For 
nine days before the half-yearly examinations there are no 
recitations, the pupils being employed in preparation in their 
study -rooms. 

The collection of models for the course of drawing and of 
physical apparatus is small, but is increased annually by means 
of a special appropriation. 

The pupils are divided for study into twelve groups, each 
60 



474 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

one of which occupies a room. The study-rooins contain, 
in proportion to their size, a number of tables, conveniently ar- 
ranged for the books and papers of the pupils, each table having 
seats at it for four. One of the first class sits at each study- 
table, and has charge of the others at his table, his duty being 
to assist them in their lessons, as well as to keep order; in these 
offices he is aided by a member of the second class. The other 
two seats are occupied by members of the lower-second and of 
the two divisions of the third class. A pupil of the first class 
is selected to superintend each room, under the direction of a 
professor, who, in weekly turn, from which the director and 
ecclesiastical inspector are excepted, has special charge of the 
discipline and studies, and who occupies, during this week of 
duty, a room in the building with the pupils. The selected 
pupils, called inspectors, have a right to punish so far as to 
confine a pupil to the study-room during play-hours, but are 
required, in grave cases, to report to the professor on duty 
(hebdomedarius), or to the director. No violence is allowed 
from them to the other pupils. They are chosen every six 
months by the professors. The professor on duty conducts the 
prayers in the morning, and visits the dormitories and study- 
rooms after the pupils have risen and after they retire, presides 
at the table, and superintends the special recitations made by 
the younger to the elder pupils. 

In the dormitories, the pupils are divided into six sections, 
each one composed of two study-divisions, and occupying a 
dormitory. The two inspectors of studies have charge of these 
rooms, one of them alternately superintending the rising and 
retiring of the pupils. Both sleep in the room with their divi- 
sions, and one retires with them. The same arrangement is 
followed in washing. The pupils bring water for their rooms, 
but other menial offices are done by servants. The pupils 
who board in the institution (intraners, or alumni) are so ar- 
ranged at meals as to intermingle the different classes; thus, 
one from the first class, then one from the second, then one 
from the third, are next to each other, and so on, throughout the 



GYMNASIUM AT SCHULPFORTA. 475 

school, as far as the unequal numbers of the classes permit. 
The first class pupils carve, and distribute the Sunday's allow- 
ance of wine. 

Simple cases of discipline are disposed of by the inspectors, 
or the professor on duty (hebdomedarius), or the rector, or, if 
occurring in the recitation-room, by the professor in whose 
room it occurs. More difficult ones are reported to the board 
of professors, which meets for this purpose, and to discuss the 
general concerns of the institution, once a week. The highest 
punishment, consistent with retaining the pupil, is solitary con- 
finement, with a regimen of bread and water; for offences re- 
quiring great severity, dismission is applied. The inspectors of" 
studies are allowed to be present at the weekly meetings of the 
professors. The rector presides at them, and reports are re- 
ceived from the hebdomedarius and inspectors, and instructions 
are issued to them. The following provision of discipline has 
been found highly beneficial. Every pupil, on his admission, 
is assigned to the guardianship of a professor, who is ex- 
pected to look to his well-being in every respect, to keep his 
accounts, and correspond with his parents. The extraners 
dwell entirely with the professors, having study-rooms in their 
houses. 

The physical education of the pupils receives much attention. 
A fine garden is attached to the school, in which gymnastics 
are practised. Frequent walks are taken, when the weather 
permits, under the charge of a teacher, and the pupils bathe in 
a neighbouring stream. Twice in the course of the summer 
long excursions are made to the mountains in the neighbour- 
hood, with the professors and their families. 

The domestic economy of the establishment is controlled by a 
steward, who is directly responsible to, and whose accounts are 
inspected by, an agent from the ministry of finance of the king- 
dom. The farm is rented to an individual, who takes charge 
of the supply of the common table. 

The order of the day in winter is as follows. Rise at 6i 
A. M., have prayers at 6h, and breakfast. Instruction begins 
at 7. Study from 8 to 9. Recitation from 9 to 10. Study 



476 CiEXERAL EDUCATION. SECONDAJIY PERIOD. 

from 10 to 11. Recitation from 11 to 12. At 12 dine, and 
have recreation until 2 P. M. Recitation from 2 to 4. Study 
and teaching of the third class by the first, from 4 to 5. Study 
from 5 to 7. Supper at 7, and prayers. Study until 9. The 
under classes retire, and the first class study until 10. In sum- 
mer the pupils rise an hour earlier, and have gymnastic exer- 
cises, and go to bathe between 5 and 7, instead of studying. 

In this arrangement the study and recitation hours succeed 
each other in turn, and such is the general rule, which is, how- 
ever, broken in upon by the voluntary courses, and also by 
those of the higher mathematics and Hebrew, which are not 
attended by all the pupils. 

Courses of insLriicUon in the three foregoing gymnasia. The 
subjects of instruction are nearly the same in all three of these 
gymnasia, viz., Latin, Greek, German, French, religious in- 
struction, mathematics (including arithmetic, algebra, and 
geometry), natural philosophy and natural history, history, 
geography, writing, drawing, vocal music, and Hebrew for 
theologians. In the Frederick William gymnasium there is a 
course of the elements of philosophy. In the real gymnasium 
there are courses of English, of teclinology, and of chemistry. 
At Pforta, dancing is taught as the means of giving an easy 
carriage, and with gymnastics and swimming, in their appro- 
priate seasons, as a means of health. So diflerent are the ideas 
which prevail in German}^ from those which have the ascend- 
ancy among us, that in this institution, directed by a clerg}'^- 
man, and under clerical authority in its minuter regulations, 
occasional balls are given, in which the first class are allowed 
to take a part. 

For the sake of giving a full view of the difl^erences in the 
courses of instruction in these institutions, I have placed their 
details* in parallel columns upon the same page, reserving re- 
marks upon them until the close of this exposition. This ab- 
stract of the courses will be followed by a comparison of the 

* Taken from the prograinmcs for the summer term of 183G, and the winter 
of 1836-7, kindly furnislicd mc on my visits (o the several schools, by the 
directors Sjiillckc, August, and Kirclmer. 



COMPARISON OF PRUSSIAN^ GYMNASIA. 



477 



time occupied in each branch during the entire course of in- 
struction. The numbers attached to the names of the different 
classes show the number of hours of study per week in the 
regular branches in which the division of classes takes place. 
In like manner, the numbers attached to the several subjects of 
study show how many hours are occupied per week in each 
of the subjects by the several classes. The course of the Pforta 
school begins only with the third class, and hence the right 
hand column is vacant in the lower classes. The four lower 
classes of the real gymnasium may be taken as equivalents to 
the three of the Frederick William gymnasium; the classes do 
not precisely correspond, but the leading features of the courses 
of all above the lower third are similar. 

The extemporalia spoken of in the courses of language, con- 
sist of written translations made on the spot by the pupils into 
a foreign language, of sentences spoken in the vei'nacular by 
the teacher. These sentences are, of course, adapted to the 
progress of the pupil, and are prepared beforehand by the 
teacher who renders them, especially in the early parts of the 
course, the application of the rules of grammar on which the 
pupil is engaged, or of peculiarities of idiom to which his atten- 
tion is called. 



FrederickWilliam 
Gymnasium. 



Real Gymnasium. 



Sixth Class, thirty hours. Sixth Class, thirty hours. 



Latin, ten hours. 
Inflections of nouns, 
&c. Comparisons. Con- 
jugation of the indicative 
moods of regular and of 
some irregular verbs. 
Translation from Blume's 
elementary book. Exer- 
cises from Blume. Ex- 
temporalia. 

German, four hours. 
Etymology and syn- 
tax. Exercises in writing 



Latin, four hours. 
Inflections of the parts 
of speech preceding the 
regular verbs in Olto 
Schulz's school grammar. 
A written exercise once a 
week. 



German, four hours. 
Grammar. Syntax. 
Readinsr exercises in Au- 



Gymnasium op 

SciIULPFORTA. 



478 



GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 



Frederick William Real Gymnasium. Gymnasium op 

Gymnasium. Schulpforta. 



upon subjects previously 
narrated. Exercises in 
orthography, reading, and 
declaiming. 

French, three hours. 

Etymology, to include 
the auxiliary verbs, in 
Herrmann's grammar. 
Oral and w^ritten exer- 
cises. Reading and trans- 
lation. Exercises on the 
rules from the grammar. 

Religion, two hours. 

Bible history of the 
Old Testament. Com- 
mitting to memory se- 
lected verses. 

Geography, two hours. 
Delineation of the out- 
lines of Europe, Africa, 
Asia, and America, from 
determinate points given. 
Divisions of the coun- 
tries, with their principal 
cities, rivers, and moun- 
tains. 



Arithmetic, four hours. 
The four ground rules, 
with denominate whole 
numbers. Their applica- 
tions. 

Writing, three hours. 

Elements of round and 
running hand. Dictation. 
Writing from copy-slips. 

Drawing, two hours. 
Exercises in drawing 
lines. 



gust's reader. Narration 
of stories told by the 
teacher. Declamation. 

French, four hours. 
Elements of grammar 
to the regular verbs, Read- 
ing and translation in 
Hecker's Reader. 



Religion, two hours. 

Bible history. Explana- 
tion of Luther's Catechism. 
Committing to memory 
Bible stories and verses. 

Geography, four hours. 

General geography, ac- 
cording to A. HOrschel- 
mann's outline. 



History, two hours. 
Biographies from gene- 
ral history. 

Arithmetic, five hours. 
The elementary rules 
with whole numbers. 



Writing, three hours. 
Elements of forms of 

writing. Writing from 

copy-slips. 

Drawing, two hours. 
Drawing of lines and 
other exercises of the 
hand. Drawing from en- 
gravings. 



COMPARISON OF PRUSSIAN GYMNASIA. 



479 



FrederickWilliam 
Gymnasium. 

Fifth Class, twenty -nine 
hours. 

Latin, ten hours. 
Etymology. Use of the 
prepositions. The ac- 
cusative before an infini- 
tive, practised orally and 
in writing, and extem- 
pore, and in exercises. 
Translations from 
Blume's Reader. 

German, four hours. 

Parsing, reading, and 
declamation. Exercises 
on narrations. 

French, three hours. 

Etymology, by oral 
and written exercises. 
Easier stories from Herr- 
mann's Reader. 

Religion, two hours. 

Explanation of the gos- 
pels, according to St. 
Matthew and St. Luke. 
Committing to memory 
the principal facts. 

Geography, two hours. 
Review of the last 
year's course. Rivers and 
mountains of Europe, 
and chief towns, in con- 
nexion. 



Arithmetic, four hours. 
Review of the preced- 
ing. Fractions. 



Real Gymnasium. 

Fifth Class, thirty hours. 

Latin, six hours. 
Inflections of words, in- 
cluding the verbs, from 
Scliulz's grammar. Trans- 
lations in August's and 
Gedike's Reader. 



German, four hours. 
Syntax. Weekly writ- 
ten exercises. Orthogra- 
phy. Declamation. 

French, three hours. 
Irregular verbs. Trans- 
lations from German into 
French, and vice-versa. 

Religion, two hours. 
Explanation of Luther's 
Catechism. Excerpts from 
the New Testament. Com- 
mitting to memory facts 
and verses. 

Geography, one hour. 
Review of the last year's 
course. 



History, three hours. 

Extracts from Bottiger's 
General History, relating 
to ancient history and the 
middle ages. 

Arithmetic, three hours. 
Review of fractions. 
Loss and gain. Easy ex- 
amples of interest and 



Gy'mnasium op 
schulpforta. 



480 



GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 



FrederickWilliam Real Gymnasium. 
Gymnasium. 

practice. Mental arithme- 
tic, the four ground rules 
in whole numbers and 
fractions. Solution of easy 
questions. 

Geometry, two hours. 
Introductory exercises. 

Writing, two hours. 
As in the sixth class. 



Gymnasium of 
schulpforta. 



Writing, two hours. 
Running-hand from 
copy-slips. 

Drawing, two hours. 

Drawing from bodies, 
terminated by planes and 
straight lines. 



Fourth Class, twenty- 
eight hours. 

Latin, ten hours. 
Review of etymology. 
The principal rules en- 
forced by oral and writ- 
ten exercises and extem- 
poralia. Translation from 
Jacob's Reader and Corn. 
Ncpos. 



German, three hours. 
Compositions on sub- 
jects previously read. De- 
clamation. Reading from 
Kalisch's Reader. Pars- 
ing. 

French, two hours. 
Review of etymology. 
Irregular verbs. Reci- 
procal verbs. Anecdotes 
and narrations from 
Herrmann's Grammar, 
and committing the prin- 
cipal to memory. 



Drawing, two hours. 
As in the sixth class. 



Singing, two hours. 
Knowledge of notes. 

Lower Fourth, thirty -two 
hours. 

Latin, six hours. 
Exercises, from Au- 
gust's Practical Exercises, 
in inflections. Syntax from 
August's Guide to Trans- 
lation. Written exercises, 
extemporalia. Translation 
of the more difficult parts 
of Blume's Reader. Irregu- 
lar inflections. 

German, three hours. 
Grammar, with oral 
and written exercises. 



French, three hours. 
Irregular declensions. 
Translation from Ilecker's 
Reader. Translations from 
Duvinage. Rules from 
Knebel's Grammar. 



COMPARISON OF PRUSSIAN GYMNASIA. 



481 



FredesickWilliam Real Gymnasium. Gymnasium op 
Gymnasium. Schulpforta. 



Religion, two hours. 

Gospel, according to 
St. Matthew, explained. 
Verses and psalms com- 
mitted to memory. 

Geography, three hours. 
Political geography of 
Germany, and of the rest 
of Europe. Review of 
the geography of the 
other parts of the world. 



Arithmetic, three hours. 
Review of fractions. 
Simple and compound 
proportion. Partnership. 
Simple interest. 

Geometry, one hour. 
Knowledge of forms, 
treated inductively. 



Writing, two hours. 
Running-hand, from 
copy-slips. 

Drawing, two hours. 

From bodies bounded 
by curved lines. 



Religion, one hour. 
Bible history of the Old 
Testament. Exercises. 
Verses learned by heart. 

Geography, one hour. 

Germany in particular. 
Asia, Africa, America, and 
Australia. 



History, two hours. 
General history. Mo- 
dern history, with special 
reference to German his- 
tory. 

Arithmetic, two hours. 

Loss and gain. Interest. 
August's Complete Manual 
of Mathematics, parts 1 
to 7. 

Geometry, four hours. 
Parts 1 to 7 of August's 
Manual of Mathematics. 

Natural History, four 
hours. 

General view of the 
three kingdoms of nature. 
Natural history of the 
mammalia, with demon- 
strations at the royal mu- 
seum. 

Writing, one hour. 
As in the sixth class. 



Drawing, two hours. 

From drawings by the 
teacher. 

Singing, two hom's. 
Two and three parts. 



61 



482 general education. secondary period. 

FrederickWilliam Real Gymnasium. Gymnasium of 

Gymnasium. Schulpforta. 

Upper Fourth Class, 
thirty hours. 

Latin, six hours. 
Declensions. Transla- 
tion from Gedike's Clires- 
tomathy. Exercises from 
August's Guide. Extem- 
poralia. 

German, three hours. 

Particles. Synonima. 
Exercises of style. Oral 
expositions. 

French, three hours. 

Translation from the 
French of Duvinagc's 
Guide. From the Ger- 
man of Beauvais. First 
part of Knebel's Gram- 
mar. Exercises and ex- 
temporalia. 

Religion, one hour. 
Chief truths of Chris- 
tianity and morals. Exer- 
cises. History of the New 
Testament. Exercises. 

Geography, two hours. 
The Germanic Confed. 
The Austrian states. 

History, two hours. 
History of Germany, 
and sketch of the French 
revolution. 

Arithmetic, two hours. 
Partnership. Interest. 
Exchange. 

Geometry, four hours. 
Parts 5 to 9 of August's 
Manual. 

Natural History, four 

hours. 
Terminology of botany 



COMPARISON OF PRUSSIAN GYMNASIA. 



283 



FrederickWilliam Real Gymnasium. 
Gymnasiuji. 

Natural history of birds, 
with demonstrations at the 
royal museum. 

Writing, one liour. 
As in the sixth class. 
Draioing, two hours. 
As in the sixth class. 
Singing, two hours. 
This class is voluntary. 



Gymnasium of 
schulpforta. 



Lower Third, tliirty 
hours, 

Latin, eight hours. 
Syntax. Rules of cases 
from Zumpt. Exercises 
and extemporalia. In- 
flections formerly learn- 
ed reviewed, Cornelius 
Nepos. 



Greek, six hours. 
Etymology, from Butt- 
mann's Grammar to re- 
gular verbs, incl. Trans- 
lation from Greek into 
German from Jacob's, 
from German into Greek 
from Hess's Exercises. 

German, two hours. 

Compositions in narra- 
tion and description. De- 
clamation. 



French, two hours. 
Repetition of inflec- 
tions, and exercises by 
extemporalia and in writ- 
ing. Translation of the 
fables from Herrmann's 
Reading Book, 2d course. 



Lower Third, thirty-one 
hours, 

Latin, seven hours. 
Gedike's Chrestomathy, 
Grammar, from August's 
Guide. Exercises and ex- 
temporalia. O. Schulz's 
Latin Anthology. 



Greek, four hours. 
Inflections to the verbs 
in /Lit. Translation from 
Buttmann's Compendium. 



German, three hours. 

Principles of versifica- 
tion, from Wakkernagel's 
collection of the German 
poets. Selections from the 
grammar. Essays. 

French, three hours. 

Ancient and modern 
Greece of Duvinage. 
Grammar. Exercises and 
extemporalia. 



Lower Third, thirty 
hours. 

Latin, fourteen iiours. 

Caesar B. Gall, book 5 
and book 1. Corn. Nep. 
Atticus. Preface. Milt. 
Themistoc. Ovid's Me- 
tamorphoses, books 8 
and 2, expurg. Prosody. 
Zumpt's Grammar. Ex- 
ercises and extemporalia. 

Greek, five hours. 
Translation from Ja- 
cob's Elements. Geogra- 
phical division of Europe 
and Africa. Inflections 
to irregular verbs, from 
Buttmann's Exercises. 

German, two hours. 
Written and oral exer- 
cises. Declamation. 



French. 
See remarks at the 
close, the class divisions 
in this course not corres- 
ponding with those of the 
others. 



484 



GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 



FrederickWilliam Real Gymnasium. 
Gymnasium. 



Religion, two hours. 
Morals and Christian 
faith. 



Geography, two hours. 
Physical geography. 
Europe and tlie otlicr 
parts of tlie world. 

History, two hours. 
General view of an- 
cient and modern history. 



Mathematics, four hours. 

Legendre's Geometry, 
book 1. Decimals. Al- 
gebra. Square and cube 
root. 

Drawing, two hours. 
Introduction to land- 
scape drawing. 



Religion, one hour. 
Catecliization on the 
gospel according to St. 
Luke. 



Geography, one hour. 
General geograpliy of 
Europe. 



History, three hours, 
Roman history. An- 
cient geography from 
Schmidt, Ancient history 
from Schmidt. 

Mathematics, five hours. 

August's Geometry, 
parts 10 and 11. Algebra, 
Powers. Square root. 
Simple equations. Solution 
of examples. 



Natural Philosophy, two 
hours. 
Elements of physics and 
of chemistry. 

Natural History, two 

hours. 
Amphibii and fishes. 
Linnaean system. Excur- 



Gymnasium op 
schulpforta. 

Religion, two hours. 

History of David, part- 
ly from the Old Testa- 
ment, partly related. Gos- 
pel according to St. Luke 
read and explained. Com- 
milling to memory verses 
from the Bible. Exami- 
nation on the sermon. 

Geography, three hours. 
General Exposition. 
America and northern 
and middle Asia. South- 
ern Asia and Africa. 



Mathematics, four hours. 

Vulgar and decimal 
fractions. Similarity of 
triangles, and proposi- 
tions depending upon 
these properties. 



Besides these regular studies in the real gymnasium, occupying thirty-one 
hours per week, there are those which may be substituted for Greek, or assumed 
voluntarily, viz. — English, two hours. Inflections of different parts of speech. 
Irregular verbs. Reading from Ilort's Reader and from Ilcussi's New English 



COMPARISON OP PRUSSIAN GYMNASIA. 



485 



Reader. Writing and drawing, two hours eacli, for those pupils who do not 
take a part in the singing lessons of two hours, which will be more fully spoken 
of at the close. The same exercises are continued in the following class. 



FrederickWilliam Real Gymnasium. 
Gymnasium. 



Upper Third Class, 
thirty hours. 

Latin, ten hours. 
Division I, Syntax, 
from Zumpt. Review of 
the preceding course. 
Oral exercises in con- 
struction of sentences. 
Written exercises and ex- 
temporalia. Csesar Bell. 
Gall., books 1, 2, and 7, 
in part. Ovid's Meta- 
morphoses, extracts from 
books 7 and 8. Prosody, 
rules from Zumpt. 

Greek, six hours. 

Division L Etymology, 
from Buttman's Gram- 
mar. Oral and written 
exercises and extempora- 
lia. Jacob's Reader. 

German, two hours. 

Examination of exer- 
cises on historical sub- 
jects. Poetical selections 
for declamation. 

French, two hours. 

Exercises in transla- 
tion. Written exercises. 
Extemporalia. 



Religion, two hours. 
Principal passages from 



Upper Third Class, 
tliirty-one hours. 

Latin, seven hours. 
August's Libaraeiita. 
Courses, three and four. 
Syntax. Exercises and ex- 
temporalia. Ovid's Meta- 
morphoses, books 1, 2, 3, 
and 4, excerpts. Writ- 
ten translations. Commit- 
ting to memory remark- 
able passages. Prosody. 
Theory of hexameters. 



Greek, four hours. 
Review and extension 
of the preceding course. 
Matthise's Greek Reader. 



German, three hours. 

Reading and comment- 
ing on the German classics. 
Exercises, with rules for 
style. Free delivery. 

French, three hours. 

Selections from Mignet, 
Thiers, &c., and from 
Herrmann and Bxichner's 
Manual. Exercises in 
speaking and writing. 
Extemporalia. 

Religion, one hour. 
Gospel, according to St. 



Gymnasium of 
schulpforta. 

Upper Third Class, 
thirty hours. 

Latin, fourteen hours, 
Cicero, Laelius, Cato 
major. Ctesar, BelLCiv., 
books 2 and 3, in part. 
Ovid's Metamorphoses, 
books 4, 5, and 6, excerpt. 
Zumpt's Grammar. In- 
flections. Syntax. Exer- 
cises and extemporalia. 
Exercises in prosody. 



Greek, five hours. 

Xenophon, Cyrop., ex- 
tracts from books 2 and 
3. Buttmann's Gram- 
mar. Irregular verbs, &c. 
Ditfurt's Vocab. Greek 
Exercises. 

German, two hours. 

Correction of exercises. 
Declamation. Prosody, 
from Heise. Rules for 
formation of sentences. 

French, 
See close of this list. 



Religion, two hours. 
History of the Old and 



486 



GENERAL EDUCATIOIV. SECONDARY PERIOD. 



FrederickWilliam 
Gymnasium. 

the gospels gone over. 
General view of the Old 
Testament writings. 

History and Geography^ 
four hours. 

Roman history, from 
the Punic Wars to the 
destruction of the west- 
ern empire. History of 
the middle ages, three 
hours. Review of the 
five general divisions of 
the world, one hour. 

Mathematics, four hours. 
Geometry. Legendrc, 
books 1 and 2, and part 
of 3. Algebra, with exer- 
cises from Meyer Hirsch. 



Lower Second Class, 
thirty-one hours. 
Latin, eight hours. 
Extracts from Livy and 
CsBsar de Bell. Civ. Re- 
view of Bell. Gall., books 
2 and 3. Syntax. Exer- 
cises and extcmporaUa. 
Committing to memory 
exercises from Livy and 
Caesar. Ovid's Metamor- 
phoses, books 11 to 14. 

Greek, six hours. 

Homer's Odys., 11, 12, 

13, and 14. Exercises 

on the dialects. Xeno- 

phon's Anab. I, 2, and 



Real Gymnasium. 

Mark, with catecliization 
upon it. 

History and Geography, 
three hours. 

History of the middle 
ages. Review of geogra- 
phy- 



Mathematics, six hours. 
Simple and quadratic 
equations. Theorems from 
general theory of equa- 
tions. Mensuration of re- 
gular polygons and circles. 

Natural History, four 
hours. 

Botany, according to the 
natural system. Natural 
history of worms. 

Lower Second Class, 

thirty hours. 

Latin, seven hours. 

Half the year with up- 

per tiiird. The other half: 

Sallust, Bell. Jol,^, book 1. 

Virgil's iEneid, books 1 

and 2. Exercises and ex- 

temporalia. 



Greek, four hours. 
As in the upper third 
class. 



Gymnasium op 

ScilULPFORTA. 

New Covenants, with re- 
ferences to the Bible. 



Geography and History, 
three hours. 

Geography and history 
of European states, par- 
ticularly of the German 
Confederation, from Dit- 
tenbcrger's Instructor. 



Mathematics, four hours. 
Algebra. Simple equa- 
tions. Equality of plane 
rectilinear figures, from 
Swinden. Exercises. 



Lower Second Class, 
thirty hours. 
Latin, twelve hours. 
Cicero Orationes in 
Cat., pro lege Manil., pro 
Arcliia. Cic. Selected 
epistles from Matthiae 
Exercises from Ovid, fas 
tis, and Terence Adcl 
phi. Zumpt's Grammar. 
Particles. Syntax Orn 
Exercises. Extemporalia, 
Latin verses. 

Greek, five hours. 
Xenophon's Anab., 1, 
2, and part of 3. Homer's 
Gdys., 21 to 24. Exer. 
cises. 



COMPARISON OF PRUSSIAN GYMNASIA. 



487 



FrederickWilliam Real Gymnasium. 
Gymnasium. 

part of 3. Excerpts from 
the grammar reviewed. 
Exercises and extempo- 
ralia. Syntax. 

Heirew, two hours. 

Grammar, ending with 
irregular verbs. Easier 
parts of historical books 
of Scripture translated. 
Vocabulary learned by 
rote. Exercises on regu- 
lar and irregular verbs 
out of the recitation room. 



Gymnasium of 
schulpporta. 



German, two hours. 

Correction of written 
exercises and essays. 
Exercises of delivery. 



French, two hours. 

Voltaire's Charles XII. 
Exercises and extempora- 
lia. 



Religion, two hours. 

Explanation of the 
principal parts of the 
Epistles of St. Paul, with 
historical sketches, and a 
view of the life of early 
Christian communities. 

History, three hours. 

Roman history, from 
the Punic Wars. History 
of the middle ages con- 
cluded. General view of 
history. 



German, three hours. 

In summer combined 
with upper third class. In 
winter, reading German 
classics. Delivery. Es- 
says. 

French, three hours. 

In summer, with upper 
third. Selections from 
Briichner's Reader. Gram- 
matical exercises, and 
translation from Knebel's 
Grammar. Extemporalia. 

Religion, one hour. 

In summer, with upper 
tliird. In winter. Chris- 
tian system of morals. 



Geography and History, 

three hours. 
In summer, with upper 
third. In winter, with 
upper second. Modern 
history, from 1660 to 1815, 
General geography of Eu- 
rope. 



Hebrew, two hours. 

Elements of grammar 
from Gesenius. Exer- 
cises in reading and writ- 
ing. Paradimes. Vocabu- 
lary learned. 



German, two hours. 

View of the principal 
epochs in the history of 
the German language. 
Principles of inflection. 

Essays. 

French. 
See close of this list. 



Religion, two hours. 

Gospel according to St. 
Mark, with suitable illus- 
trations. Acts of the 
Apostles, in part. 



History, three hours. 

History of the East 
and of the Greeks, with 
ancient geography from 
Lorcntz's work. 



488 



GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 



FkederickWilliam 

Gymijasium. 

Mathematics, four hours. 

Gcom. to proportions 
and simple figures. Ele- 
ments of algebra. Loga- 
rithms. 



Gymnasium of 
schulpforta. 

Mathematics, four hours. 

Proportions. Powers 
and roots 
figures. 
Svvinden. 



Similarity of 
Circles, from 
Exercises. 



Real Gymnasium. 

Mathematics, five hours. 

Simple and quadratic 
equations. Powers. Roots. 
Logarithms. Review of 
planimetry. Stereometry. 
Algebraic exercises. 

Natural History, two 
hours. 

Cryptogamic plants. 
Propagation of the princi- 
pal cultivated plants. Mi- 
neralogy. 

Physics, two hours. 

General properties of 
bodies. Solids, from Fiscli- 
er's Natural Philosophy. 

The courses of English, of writing, and drawing, arc as in tho upper tliird 
class. Besides these, two hours arc set apart for conversation in the French lan- 
guage, and exercises in extempore writing. 



Natural History, two 
hours. 

Mineralogy. Botany, 
especially of native plants. 



Upper Second Class, 
thirty-two hours. 

Latin, nine hours. 

Cicero's Orations, pro 
Rose. Amor., de Amic., 
de Senectutc. Livy, books 
22 to 25, inclusive. Vir- 
gil's jEneid, books 1 and 
2. Some eclogues and 
excerpts from Georgics. 
Exercises and extcmpo- 
ralia. 

Cfreek, six hours. 

Homer's Iliad, books 4 
to 11, inclusive. Arrian 
Alex, expedition, books 1 
and 2, Buttmann's Gram- 
mar, with exercises and 
extcmporalia. 



Upper Second Class, 
thirty -two hours. 

Latin, seven hours. 

Livy, books 29, 30, 31, 
and 32. Terence, Andria. 
Virgil's jEneid, books 7, 
8, 9, and 10. Cicero de 
Amic. Grammatical ex- 
ercises and cxtemporalia. 



Greek, four hours. 

Homer's Odys., books 
9 to 11. Arrian exped. 
Alex., books 2 and 3. 
Grammatical exercises 
and cxtemporalia. 



Upper Second Class, 
twenty-nine hours. 

Latin, eleven hours. 

Cicero, in Verrem, Act 
ii. book 4. Excerpts. 
Livy, parts of books 22 
and 23. Tacitus. Ger- 
mania excerpts. Virgil's 
JEneid, books 9, 11, and 
12. Exercises and cx- 
temporalia. 

Greek, six hours. 

Herodotus, parts of 
books 6 and 7. Plutarch. 
Excerpts from Alexander. 
Homer's Iliad, books 4 
and 5. Exercises and ex- 
temporalia. 



COMPARISON OF PRUSSIAN GYMNASIA. 



489 



FrederickWilliam 
Gymnasiuji. 

Hebrew, two hours. 

Books of Judges and 
of Ruth, with exercises 
of syntax. Easy exer- 
cises, and committing 
vocabulary to memory 
out of tlie class-room. 

German, two hours. 
Essays. Delivery. 



French, two hours. 

Excerpts from Herr- 
mann and Briichner's 
Manual of the more re- 
cent French literature. 



Religion, two hours. 
Christian faith and mo- 
rals. 



History, three hours. 

Review of ancient his- 
tory and geography, using 
the Latin language. 

Mathematics, four hours. 
Arithmetical geometry 
and plane trigonometry. 
Algebraic exercises. Po- 
lygons. Stereometry. 

Simple and quadratic 
equations. 

Physics, two hours. 
General physics. Elec- 
tricity and magnetism. 



Real Gymnasium. 

Hebrew, two hours.* 
Historical pieces from 
Gesenius's Reader. Book 
of Genesis. Exercises in 
vowels from Hantschkc's 
Reader. Syntax. 

German, three hours. 

Varieties of prose and 
poetry, with examples. 
History of National Lite- 
ratui'c. Essays. Delivery. 

French, three hours. 

Parts of the Manual of 
Ideler and Nolte, viz. — ex- 
tracts from Rollin, Le Sage, 
Moli^re, Delavigne, &c. 
Exercises and extempora- 
lia. 

Religion, one hour. 

Christian system of re- 
ligion and morals. 



History, three hours. 

Modern history, from 
1500 to 1815. General 
geography of Europe. 

Mathematics, six hours. 
Plane trigonometry from 
Legendre. Theory of the 
circle. Logarithms. Ste- 
reometry from Legendre. 
Binomial. Powers. 

Physics, three hours. 

Electricity and magnet- 
ism. Heatjlight, and sound, 
from Fischer's Physics. 



Gymnasium of 

ScnULPFORTA. 

Hebrew, two hours. 

Gesenius's Reader, 
parts 1 and 2. Vocabu- 
lary. Gesenius's Gram- 
mar. Verbs and adverbs. 
Writing of Hebrew cha- 
racters. 

German, two hours. 
Elements of versifica- 
tion, with essays and 
poetical exercises. 

French. 

See at the close of this 
list. 



Religion, two hours. 

Acquaintance with the 
sacred writings, and 
books of the evangelical 
church. Essays. 

History, two hours. 

History of Rome to the 
monarchy, with a geo- 
graphical introduction 
from Lorentz. 

Mathematics, four hours. 
Progressions and loga- 
rithms, with applications. 
Stereometry and plane 
trigonometry. Exercises. 



62 



* Voluntary. 



490 



GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 



FredeeickWilliam Real Gymnasium. Gymnasium of 

Gymnasium. Schulpforta. 

Chemistry, two hours. 

Metalloids, acids, alka- 
lis, earths, from Wohler's 
Principles. Two hours of 
voluntary practice in the 
laboratory. 

The course of English in the real gymnasium, in this class, is continued by 
reading the Vicar of Wakefield, and by exercises from the grammar of Burckhardt 
and Jost. There is a voluntary course of technology, in the same institution, in 
this class, two hours per week, including a discussion of the uses of animal and 
vegetable products in the arts, oils, resins, starch, sugar, &lc. Methods of making 
acids, salts, glass, earthenware, &c. This class is attended by those who do not 
study Greek. The courses of writing, drawing, &c. are continued as in the lower 
third class. 



First Class, thirty-one 
hours. 

Latin, eight hours. 

Horace's Odes, books 
3 and 4. Cicero against 
Verres. Tacitus, Annals, 
books 11 and 12, and ex- 
tracts from 3 to 6, Cice- 
ro, Tusc. quest. Extem- 
pore translations from 
German into Latin. Ex- 
ercises. Declamation. 

Greek, six hours. 
Homer's Iliad, book 
1 6, Odyssey, books 9 to 
16, inclusive. Hippias 
Major, Charmidcs, and 
Gorgias of Plato (ex- 
cerpts). Sophocles' Edip. 
tyr. and Antigone. Gram- 
matical exercises. Butt- 
mann's Grammar. 

Hebrew, two hours. 

Second Book of Kings. 
Genesis. Psalms, 61 to 
100. Grammatical criti- 
cisms of historical ex- 
cerpts, or of psalms, as an 
exercise at home. 



First Class, thirty-two 
hours. 

Latin, six hours. 
Horace's Odes, from 
books 2 and 3. Cicero de 
Officiis. Tacitus, Annals, 
books 1, 2, and 3. Extem- 
poralia. Written transla- 
tions from German into 
Latin. Disputations. 



Greek, four hours. 
Homer's Iliad, books 5 
to 9 and 10 to 14. Thu- 
cydides, book 2. Sopho- 
clcs's iEdip. tyr. Plato, 
apolog. Grammatical ex- 
ercises. 



Hebrew, two hours. 
Exodus, and selections 
from the other historical 
books read. The Psalms. 
Exercises from Ilantschke. 
Selections from the New 
Testament in Greek into 



First Class, twenty-nine 
hours. 

Latin, ten hours. 
Horace's Odes, book 4. 
Carm. Saec. Epist., book 
1. Cicero Tusc. disput, 
books 1 and 4. Tacitus, 
Annals, book 1., Plant us 
captiv. Extemporalia. 
Written translations from 
German into Latin. La- 
tin disputations. 

Greek, six hours. 
Homer's Iliad, books 
7 and 8. Sophocles' Phi- 
loctetes and Ajax. De- 
mosthenes' Orations, Phil. 
1, Olynth. 1, 2, 3, for 
peace. Greek exercises 
and extemporalia. 



Hebrew, two hours. 

Psalms, 46 to 51. Book 
second of Samuel. Gram- 
mar (Gesenius) and ex- 
ercises. 



COMPARISON OF PRUSSIAN GYMNASIA. 



491 



FrederickWilliam 
Gymnasium. 



German, one hour. 
Criticism of composi- 
tions. General grainmar, 
and history of the Ger- 
man Grammar and lite- 
rature. 



French, two hours. 

Selections from Scribe 
and Delavigne. Exer- 
cises and extemporalia. 



Real Gymnasium. 

Hebrew. Written transla- 
tions of Psalms. 

German, three hours. 
Composition and criti- 
cism of German authors. 



Religion, two hours. 

History of the Chris- 
tian Church, to the times 
of Gregory VII. 

History, three hours. 
Modern history, and 
review. 

Mathematics, four hours. 
Plane trigonometry 
and application of alge- 
bra to geometry. Alge- 
bra. Mensuration and 
conic sections. Binomial 
theorem. Exponential 
and trigon. functions. 

Physics, two hours. 
Physical geography. 
Mechanics. 

Philosophy, one hour. 
Propeedeutics. Logic. 



French, three hours. 

Selections from Moliere, 
Scribe, Delavigne, and 
Pascal. Written and oral 
translations from German 
into French, from Rabe. 
ner's Letters, Wieland, 
and Schiller. Extempo- 
ralia. 

Religion, one hour. 
The religions of anti- 
quity. The Bible. 

History, three hours. 
Ancient and modern 
history, from Schmidt. 

Mathematics, five hours. 

Review of plane trigo- 
nometry. Spherical trigo- 
nometry. Geometry, con- 
structions, equations of the 
third and fourth degrees. 
Numerical equations of 
higher degrees. 

Physics, three hours. 

Properties of the gases. 
Electricity. Light. Co- 
lours. 



Chemistry, two hours. 
The metals. 



Gymnasium of 
schulpforta. 



German, two hours. 

General history of Ger- 
man literature, from the 
middle of the fourteenth 
to the second quarter of 
the eighteenth century. 
Ballads from Gothe. Com- 
positions. 

French. 
See the close of this 
list. 



Religion, two hours. 
Vogel's Instructor in 
Christian Knowledge. 

History, two hours. 

Of the middle ages, 
from Gregory VII. to the 
Reformation. 

Mathematics, four hours. 
Conic sections. Per- 
mutations and combina- 
tions. Diophantine ana- 
lysis. Exercises in trigo- 
nometry and geometry. 



Physics, one hour. 
General physics. Gene- 
ral properties of bodies. 
Magnetism. 



492 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

The course of English in the real gymnasium includes the reading of Shaks- 
pcare's Ccesar and Hamlet, exercises, extcmporalia, and conversation. That of 
technology is the same as described for tlie upper second class. Those of draw- 
ing, »fcc. are the same as for the lower third, and are continued or not, at the option 
of the student. 

The instruction in vocal music in the Frederick William gymnasium has not 
been inserted in the list, because the classes do not correspond precisely with 
those in the other branches, especially the upper classes. There are five classes 
for vocal music, the fifth receiving two hours of instruction in musical notation 
and singing by ear. The fourth, time and cliffs, &c. Exercises in the natural 
scale, and harmony. Songs and chorals with one part. The third, two hours, 
formation of tiie scale of sharps, running the gamut with difficult intervals, com- 
bined with the practical exercises of the last class. The second, two hours, repe- 
tition of tones ; sharps, and flats. Formation of the scale of flats. Exercises of 
songs and chorals, in two parts. The first class is an application of what has 
been learned, as well as a continuation of the science and art, and all the pupils 
do not, of course, take part in this stage of the instruction. The course is of four 
hours per week, two for soprano and alto, one for tenor and bass, and one for the 
union of the. four parts. The proficiency is indicated by the fact, that the pupils 
perform very creditably such compositions as Haydn's " Creation," and Handel's 
" Messiah." 

In the real gymnasium there are four singing-classes, in the fourth of which 
all the members of the fifth class of the gymnasium must enter for elementary 
instruction. In the first or higher class, the Missa of Mozart, Te Deum of Haydn, 
Hymn of Mozart, Sampson of Handel, Dc Profundis of Gluke, and the Storm of 
Haydn, are practised. Opportunities are also afforded of learning instrumental 
music. 

In the gymnasium of Pforta there are five classes, whicli have six regular hours 
of instruction and several extra hours every week, besides practisings of particu- 
lar parts by individuals and in the choir. 

The course of drawing in th"5 Frederick William gymnasium is similar to 
that in the real school, which I shall describe hereafter as to the method of teach- 
ing. At Pforta there are three classes, formed from the upper and lower second 
classes, pursuing the same general method. The upper and lower third classes 
of this same school are subdivided into four sections, each having one hour's 
instruction per week. All the pupils receive dancing lessons, and are divided 
for this purpose into twelve or thirteen sections, each of which has an hour of 
instruction per week. The same teacher assists in the charge of the gymnastic 
exercises. 

The courses of writing, drawing, and music, are classed in the real gymna- 
sium under the head of dexterity in art (Kunstfiihigkeiten), and in that of Pforta 
as arts (Kiinsten). 

The course of French language at Pforta is confined to the three upper classes, 
which are divided into five sections for this instruction. In the fifth class the course 
consists of inflections of the different parts of speech from Hirzel's Grammar, and 



COMPARISON OF PRUSSIAN GYMNASIA. 493 

reading two hours. In tlie fourth class, inflections continued, and pronouns from 
Hirzel. Charles XII. begun. Exercises, two hours. In the third class, Charles 
XII. continued ; syntax j grammar continued ; exercises, two hours. In the second 
class grammatical exercises from Hirzel, and correction of written exercises; 
selections from Ideler & Nolte's Reader, two hours. In the first class written 
exercises and extemporalia; poetical part of Ideler & Nolte's Reader. 

In a review of the courses, as laid down in the foreo-oins: 
abstract, the guiding principle of each of the three schools 
shows itself completely by characteristic differences in the 
instruction, while their subordination to a general scheme ap- 
pears by their never diverging from each other be'yond cer- 
tain limits. To permit this variety is, to my apprehension, 
more judicious than to require strict uniformity in the dif- 
ferent schools. It allows a latitude for youth of different tastes 
and powers of mind to choose, without departing from a pro- 
fessional career. The adv^ocates of an exclusively classical 
system would find too much of innovation even in the school 
at Pforta, while those who take a more moderate view would 
consider it as presenting an example of a close classical train- 
ing, with accessaries from the modern languages and sciences. 
The real gymnasium is the other extreme of this class of secon- 
dary schools; the modern languages and sciences are brought 
more prominently forvi^ard, but with a sincere desire on the 
part of its founder and director to effect what they consider a 
due equiUbrium ; hence the classical course differs principally 
in quantity from that of the other schools, following them closely 
in the authors read and in the quality of the instruction. The 
character of these schools, which their programmes thus indi- 
cate, is borne out by inspection. There is no disposition to 
neglect science at Pforta, nor to neglect the ancient languages 
at the. real gymnasium. At the former the lessons in mathe- 
matics are most admirable, and at the latter the classics of the 
highest class which I heard were excellent. This spirit of tole- 
ration, if it may be so called, is fully manifested also in the 
Frederick William gymnasium. It constitutes a peculiar part 
of the excellence of the Prussian gymnasia, and is one source 
of the superior mental training which they afford. 



494 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

The courses themselves presenting this variety in these schools, 
the same may be naturally expected in regard to the methods of 
instruction. In fact, the methods of teaching the same subject 
vary even in the same school, each teacher being allowed 
to pursue his own plan, under advice of the director. The 
power of a method depends so much upon the pecuhar manner 
of applying it by the teacher, thg.t this latitude is favourable to 
progress; the regular conferences which take place among the 
teachers, and the supervision of the director, keeping the diversity 
within reasonable bounds. 

In the classical course, the oral and written exercises are 
varied in their relative proportions to each other. The trans- 
lation from Latin or Greek into German, and vice versa, the 
grammatical exercises, Latin compositions or essays, the ex- 
temporalia before explained, the practice in versification, &c., 
are varied in amount in the different classes, according to the 
views of the instructor. At Pforta, the exercises of the first, 
or highest class, are carried on chiefly in Latin, and the amount 
of reading in the classics is greater than in the other schools. 
The Greek is begun in the lower third class of all of these schools, 
but while it is obligatory in the others, may be omitted in the 
real gymnasium, an omission which, however, supposes a desti- 
nation diflferent from that of the other pupils. One character- 
istic difference between the classical instruction in the higher 
classes and in those of similar schools in England and our 
country, is that, in general, it supposes the grammatical minutiae 
to have been fully impressed in the lower classes, and discusses 
philological questions, varieties of reading and collateral sub- 
jects of antiquities, history, biography, and geography. The 
students receive much oral instruction, which they are re- 
quired to record. The same is the practice to even a greater 
extent in the other departments of instruction, and the students 
thus acquire a facility in taking notes which they turn to good 
account in the university lectures, and which strikes a stranger 
with surprise on first witnessing it. None of the higher authors 
are read at Pforta without these oral expositions being given re- 
gularly, and usually extempore, by the professors, at stated hours. 



COMPARISON OF PRUSSIAN GYMNASIA. 495 

In general, 1 believe the plan of instruction is sufficiently appa- 
rent from the programme, but in the case of the Latin, in 
tlie lowest class of the Frederick William gymnasium, which 
struck me as particularly appropriate, does not appear to be 
there developed. The inflections of the nouns of the first de- 
clension is first taught, then of adjectives of one termination, 
then of verbs of the first conjugation; these are then illustrated 
by a variety of written and oral exercises, consisting of sentences 
made up of them. The knowledge of the pupil is thus rendered 
at once available, and the application is close to the theory, 
which, at the age of pupils of the sixth class, is especially desir- 
able. Most of the pupils in all these schools begin their classi- 
cal course at nine or ten years of age, and yet, judging by the 
progress shown in the programme of the first class, and by the 
scholars which the universities of northern Gerinany turn out, 
and which arc, in fact, formed in the gymnasia, the proficiency 
is all that can be desired. It is what a youth of nineteen issu- 
ing from one of our colleges would be proud of, and clearly 
proves that the classics are not begun too late. 

The mother tongue and French are both taught in these 
institutions, in combination with the classical studies. These 
languages are not merely entered upon the programme, but 
are actually more or less thoroughly taught, according to 
the time which is allotted and the skill of the teacher. The 
course of German would seem calculated to make both writers 
and speakers, and, probably, if the demand for the latter were 
equal to that of the former, this would prove true in the latter 
case, as it does in the former. The French is treated essen- 
tially in a different way from the ancient languages, and it is 
considered no objection that the two different methods should 
be practised in the same school. The best instruction which I 
saw was given by a native teacher, who more than made up 
for the want of perfect accuracy of pronunciation by the tho- 
rough knowledge of the vernacular idiom, which enabled him 
to anticipate and remove the difficulties of his pupils. In re- 
gard to usefulness in common life, and to affording a variety 
of structure for comparison, the French ranks before the Eng- 



496 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

lish for the purposes of the German scholar. The latter lan- 
guage is pursued, however, by many pupils of the real gymna- 
sium, and, with other modern languages, may be studied pri- 
vately at the other gymnasia, generally. 

The religious characteristic of these schools is a striking one, 
and important in its effects. The Bible is taught rather than a 
particular creed, though from the fact that the pupils are nearly 
all of one creed, this forbearance is not essential, and is not 
always exercised. The separation of religious from other 
instruction can but have a most injurious tendency, and their 
connexion, as in these schools, on the contrary, a happy influ- 
ence. Religious knowledge is classed with the sciences in the 
formal division of the subjects of study. 

The courses of geography and history in the three schools 
selected as examples, are all thorough, but differ in arrange- 
ment and method. The constant reference to the black-board 
for the delineation of maps, which occurs in the geographical 
course of the Frederick William gymnasium, is productive of 
the best results. The student is interested and furnished with 
an additional means of impressing the facts upon his memory. 
A similar course, in regard to history, is only partially in use, 
and would be a decided improvement. The introduction of 
biography, as the foundation for history, is practised in the real 
gymnasium with great success. 

The mathematical course of all these schools is of a highly 
respectable character, and is executed to the extent which 
appears in the programme. . That of the real gymnasium is 
very thorough, as the time devoted to the diflerent parts shows, 
while, as far as the same subjects are studied in the Frederick 
William gymnasium, it is scarcely behind the former institution. 
The instruction is much more thorough than that given in the 
similar courses of the French and English schools of this grade. 

The courses of physics and natural history are ntuch more 
extended in the real gymnasium than in either the Frederick 
William or Pforta gymnasium, the latter course, perhaps, too 
much so. The course of physics at Schulpforta is very meagre, 
and natural history is not taught at all, an omission which its 



COMPARISON OF PRUSSIAN GYMNASIA. 497 

country locality renders the more remarkable. The elements 
of chemistry are taught regularly in the real gymnasium, and 
practice in the laboratory may be had by those who have time 
for it from their other studies. The students have also an 
opportunity to attend a course of lectures on technology. The 
courses of physics of the real gymnasium and of the Frederick 
William gymnasium are exceedingly well calculated to fulfil 
their object, to give general ideas of natural phenomena, with- 
out going into what may be considered technical minuti^; in 
the latter school physics is connected with an excellent course of 
physical geography. It seems to me doubtful whether, in the 
natural history course, more than a general outline of the sub- 
ject, is necessary, with the prosecution, practically, of such 
branches as the locality of the institution may render applica- 
ble for improving the habits of observation and discrimination. 
The scientific details of the different branches belong rather to 
special purposes of study than to general education. The ex- 
perience of these institutions may, however, be appealed to as 
proving the entire compatibility of such instruction with an 
otherwise sound system, and the entire possibility of accom- 
plishing it without neglecting other more important branches. 

Drawing and vocal music, which form parts of the regular 
courses of all these institutions, have not yet found their way 
into the systems of other nations on the same footing with the 
regular studies. As a part of physical training, they are im- 
portant, and as offering a relief from severer pursuits, further 
recommend themselves in this connexion. In the system of 
drawing especially recommended by the Prussian ministry, 
models alone are used; this method, however, is not fully carried 
out in many schools. The old system of copying from draw- 
ings or engravings having obtained a foothold, cannot be very 
easily displaced by the new one, which requires, besides a change 
in the method of the master, an expenditure for a new set of 
apparatus. The Frederick William gymnasium has a course on 
the elements of philosophy and logic, which is wanting in the 
others, but it occupies a very small share of attention. 

It will be my object next to compare the time considered 
63 



498 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARV PERIOD. 

necessary for the several courses in these three schools, and as 
the Pforta gymnasium has no classes below the third, this will 
require a comparison between all the classes of the others 
above the third and those of Pforta, while between the two 
other schools the comparison of the entire course will be most 
satisfactory. 

The following table contains the numbers for these compa- 
risons. In the first column the subjects of study are stated; in 
the second and third columns the number of hours devoted to 
these subjects respectively, during the whole course, at the 
Frederick William and real gymnasia. Those exercises which 
are voluntary, or where one hour of a particular subject may 
be exchanged for an hour of some other, at the option of the 
student, or of his parents, are marked. The following three 
columns contain the sum total of the hours of study in the 
five classes above the third of the Frederick William and of 
the real gymnasium, and the total in the five classes of that of 
Schulpforta. 



COMPARISON OF PRUSSIAN GYMNASIA. 



499 



Comparative Table of the time occupied by the classes in three Prussian 

Gymnasia. 



SUBJECTS OF STUDY, &c. 



Latin, 

Greek, 

Hebrew,* . . . , 
German, . . . , 

French, 

English, . - . . 

Religion, - . . . 

Geography, - - . 

History, . . . . . 

Mathematics, • - ■ 

Physics, . . . . , 

Chemistry, . . . . 
Practical Chemistry, 

Technology, - - ■ 

Natural History, - • 

Philosophy, - . . 

Writing, . . - . 

Drawing, . - . . 

Singing, . - . . 

Dancing, . . - . 



Sum of all 
the hours per 
week. 



2 S 






75 

30 

6 

20 

28 



16 
10 
14 
32 

4 



2 
1 

7 

8 

12 



to 

Pi 



49 
20 

4 
26 
25 

Gt 

10 
9 

21 

43 

10 
4 
4t 
2t 
81 



6§ 

611 
8t 



Sum of the .'S ■£ 
hours of the 
five upper 
classes. 



Ki S 



45 

30 

6 

9 

10 

10 

3 

14 

20 
4 



a 



pel 



33 

20 

4 

15 

15 

6t 

5 

2 

14 

27 

10 

4 

4t 

2t 



3t 

7t 
4t 



_ 3 cu 
S O > 



go, 



61 
28 
6 

10 
6 

10 

4 

11 

20 

1 



* For theological students. 

t Voluntary studies, or exchangeable for the same number of hours of the 
Greek course. 

X Besides eight hours of voluntary or exchangeable lessons, 

§ Besides three voluntary hours. 

II Besides eight hours of voluntary, or exchangeable instruction. 



500 



GEXERAL EDUCATIORT. SECONDARY PERIOD. 



The annexed diagram represents these results, and enables 
the eye to take in the proportion of the several courses in these 
same five classes. The lengths of the vertical lines from the 
marks F, R, and P, to the horizontal line, 00, below, at which 
they all end, shows the proportion of time occupied in five 
classes of the Frederick William and real gymnasia, and at 
Pforta respectively. For example, the proportion of the Latin 
in the three institutions is expressed in the left hand column by 
the lengths from P to 0, from F to 0, and from R to 0, respec- 
tively, and similarly for the other courses in the other columns 
or upright lines.* 



Hours 65' 
60- 
55- 
50- 
45- 
40- 
35- 
30- 
25- 
20- 
15- 
10- 
5- 
0. 



FHpf 



km 



^¥iar 






m 



riF 



Rj-| J. I 

nrl-iTrr, Tr 



R= 



65 hours, 

60 

55 

50 

45 

40 

35 

30 

25 

20 
•15 

10 

5 

■ 



tA s 



.S '3 S S c .£P tfi 2 



O -H — ^ g J. - 

Q 02 Q 



Ph o !? p^ t^ 

The respective characters of these schools appear even in 
higher relief, from an examination of the foregoing table, than 
they did from the programme of studies, for though the same 
works may be read, the amount of Latin which it is possible to 
read thoroughly in seventy-five hours must be very different 
from that in forty-nine, and the proportions of forty-three, thirty- 
three, and sixty-one, cannot express equal degrees of attainment 



* Tlie voluntary studies in the real gymnasium arc omitted, and the propor- 
tions of writing, drawing, &c., include all tlic hours devoted to these brandies. 



COMPARISOPT OF PRUSSIAN GYMNASIA. 501 

in that language, though, as already shown in a former part of 
this Report, the proportional proficiencies are not accurately in- 
dicated by similar numbers. The figures in the columns for the 
Frederick William and Pforta gymnasia will be found to be 
much more nearly equal to each other than those for eitlier of 
the others. The same result appears from inspecting the dia- 
gram, where the letters F and P are quite near to each other. 
In general, F is between the two others, substantiating the re- 
mark already made of the average position taken in regard to the 
languages and sciences by the Frederick William gymnasium. 

In the comparison of the department entitled " arts," begin- 
ning with writing, and including also drawing, music, and 
dancing, the whole of the regular hours of instruction in all the 
classes of the three schools are compared with each other; 
this being the most accurate mode of comparison, since these 
exercises may be taught to nearly the same advantage at any 
period of the course, and are, in fact, introduced into the lower 
classes of the two schools which begin with the sixth class. 

Considering the studies of the five upper classes of the three 
schools, and omitting the voluntary exercises, there are devoted 
to the ancient languages, in the first courses noted in the table, 
eighty-one hours, in the second, fifty-seven hours, in the third, 
ninety-five hours. To the modern languages in the first, nine- 
teen hours, in the second, thirty hours, and in the third, sixteen 
hours. To both ancient and modern languages, in the first, one 
hundred hours, in the second, eighty-seven hours, and in the third, 
one hundred and eleven hours ; showing that, notwithstanding 
the minor variations of opinion as to the relative importance of 
the modern and ancient languages, the average of attention to 
the entire department of language approaches to an equality in 
all. The time devoted to the mathematical and natural sciences, 
including physics and chemistry in the courses given in the first 
column, is twenty-six hours, in that of the second, forty-nine 
hours, and in that of the third, twenty-one hours. To the reli- 
gious instruction, geography, history, and philosophy, ranked 
with mathematics and physics as sciences, in the courses of the 
first column, twenty-eight hours, of the second, twenty-one hours, 



502 GENERAL EDUCATION^ SECOXDARY PERIOD. 

and of the third, twenty-five hours. To the whole group of 
sciences in the first, fifty-four hours, in the second, seventy hours, 
in the third, forty-six hours. In all the classes of the arts, the 
time devoted to the courses in the Frederick William and real 
gymnasia, compared with that given to the same courses at 
Pforta, is, in the first, twenty-seven hours, in the second, twenty 
hours, in the third, seventeen hours. The total number of hours 
of study thus compared is nearly the same, being for the first 
mentioned school, one hundred and eighty-one, for the second, 
one hundred and seventy-seven, and for the third, one hundred 
and seventy-four. 

It is plain, from inspecting the number of hours of recitation 
in the difierent classes of these schools, that they have not been 
arranged with any reference to the supposed capability of the 
pupils to receive instruction of one kind more appropriately at 
a particular age than at another, but with reference to a nearly 
equal distribution of the whole time allotted to each particular 
study, in as nearly equal proportions among the different classes 
as the requirements of preliminary information for the particu- 
lar branch, and other points of detail, would permit. It may 
well be doubted W'hether this is not a defect, but the point is a 
delicate one to touch theoretically. As far as I have seen the 
trial made elsewhere, tlierc is, however, a real advantage in 
sucii a distribution, whether we have regard to general intel- 
lectual culture, or to the most advantageous mode of communi- 
cating positive knowledge. 

By comparing the number of liours of instruction in the dif- 
ferent classes in these three schools with that recommended 
in the ministerial circular already presented,* it will be found 
that, in general, the Frederick William gymnasium presents 
the nearest coincidence of arrangement in its courses. This is 
true in relation to the Latin, the Greek, the German, the French, 
the religious instruction, the mathematics, the physics, and the 
philosophy. The time devoted to the historical and geographi- 
cal courses at Pforta approaches the nearest to the new model. 
While llie time devoted to natural history and to writing, 

* Page 458 of this Report. 



GENERAL REMARKS Ai\JJ COiVlPARlSOA'S. 503 

drawing and vocal music, in the real gymnasium, is almost 
precisely equal to that recommended: we may infer from this 
that experience has shown no considerable want of balance in 
the studies as now arranged at the Frederick William gymna- 
sium, but that, notwithstanding, an increased attention to natu- 
ral history and to philosophy is judged advisable. It should be 
remarked, that the attention to be paid to the French language, 
according to the new scheme, is much less than according to 
the plan of either of these gymnasia, the study being confined 
to the three upper classes and their divisions. If this change 
should be introduced generally, the result must be, in time, that 
the French will cease to be generally spoken by liberally edu- 
cated persons in Prussia. The recommendation proceeds, most 
probably, from political considerations, which it would be out 
of place here to do more than merely to suggest. I cannot 
believe that it depends upon a true want of intrinsic usefulness 
in the acquisition. 

GENERAL REMARKS ON SECONDARY INSTRUCTION, PREPARA- 
TORY TO THE PROFESSIONS. 

The variable nature of the circumstances bearing upon the 
secondary instruction of diflerent countries, renders comparison, 
except in a general way, very difficult. A single example 
will serve to illustrate this position. The school into which 
the pupil is to be introduced, preparatory to professional life, 
though called by the same name, is essentially different in dii- 
ferent countries. An English university, in its objects and 
aims, and consequently in its organization, is very unlike the 
faculties of France, or a university of Germany, and die se- 
condary schools, which serve as feeders to these institutions, 
must be modified accordingly. 

There are, however, high general purposes to be served in the 
mental training of youth, on the more or less successful modes of 
applying which, comparison will throw the light of experience. 
If a satisfactory intellectual education at Berlin requires the 
study of Latin, Greek, the vernacular, French, geography and 
history, mathematics, physics, natural history, and intellectual 



504 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

philosophy, it is not Ukely that the same can be accomplished 
elsewhere by the study of Latin, Greek, geography, a small 
portion of history, and less of arithmetic and geometry.* If 
it is possible at Berlin to devote sufficient time to the branches 
enumerated in the Prussian programme, to make them really 
sources of mental culture and of positive knowledge, consist- 
ently with a thorough knowledge of the classics, it must be so 
in the same interval of time any where else. Hence there 
need be no apprehension even on the part of those who consi- 
der the attainment of classical knowledge for itself as the great 
end of instruction, in regard to the effects of an increased atten- 
tion to other branches of knowledge, unless it can be shown 
that the German youth are inferior in these attainments, which 
has never, I believe, been even attempted, or unless it can be 
proved that they are naturally of higher intellectual powers than 
those of other countries. 

To turn the details already given of secondary instruction to 
account, and to compare, in as brief a manner as possible, the 
Prussian gymnasia just described with the institutions for secon- 
dary instruction in the two other countries, some of the schools 
of which have been noticed, the Frederick William gymnasium 
may be assumed as representing an average of the Prussian 
gymnasia. There being nothing which can be considered 
as a system of secondary instruction in Great Britain, it is 
only by the comparison of single instances that an appre- 
ciation of the whole can be made. This comparison is ren- 
dered easy, and, in fact, reduced to ascertaining which of 
the schools of Great Britain most nearly resembles the Prus- 
sian gymnasium, by the detailed comparison already made of 
the several schools with each other. After completing the 
course just marked out, it will be my object to compare some 
of the features of the Prussian and French systems of secon- 
dary instruction, and a Prussian gymnasium with a French 
college. I would gladly have preceded this view by a com- 
parison of the gymnasia of Prussia with those of some of 

* See the programme of the Harrow school, pp. 380, 381 of this Report, 



GENERAL REMARKS AND COMPARISONS. 505 

the other German states, as Wurtemberg or Bavaria, and 
Austria, and that of the free town of Frankfort on the Maine, and 
even, subsequently, have extended the comparison to the Latin 
schools of Holland, and the colleges or gymnasia of Switzer- 
land, but it would have been in vain to attempt this within the 
limits of the present Report. In the documents and notes which 
my tour has furnished, I have ample means for such a purpose, 
which I may at a future day accomplish, as it would throw the 
light of further experience on our operations. 

Among the British institutions which I have described in more 
or less detail, no one approaches so closely to the Prussian 
gymnasia, in the outline of its course of studies, and in the time 
devoted to the diflerent subjects, as the Hill-street Institution of 
Edinburgh. There are, it is true, strongly marked differences 
in the two courses, but not so great as between those of the 
Prussian institutions and of the more exclusively classical schools. 
It is certainly remarkable, that what is an established system 
in one country, should by many be considered as an innovation 
of doubtful expediency in the other. The pupils enter and leave 
the Scottish institution earlier than the Prussian, hence the 
courses must be forced, and the mature knowledge, the regular 
and progressive development which marks the pupils of the 
Prussian schools, cannot be acquired. The crowning courses 
of language are wanting, and the mathematics and physics are 
imperfectly learned, in general, from the too early youth of 
the pupil of the Scottish school. The two years between seven- 
teen and nineteen spent in a Prussian gymnasium, are invalu- 
able to both master and pupil. It must be observed, also, that 
one being a private school, and of recent establishment, labours 
under disadvantages in regard to procuring teachers which 
the public, long tried, and assured existence of the other, pre- 
vents their being subject to. With the advantages which the 
English grammar schools have in the age of their pupils, and 
the duration of their courses, over any private school, the in- 
troduction of the branches of knowledge considered essential 
in Germany, might be effected with comparative ease in them. 
I am convinced that, as soon as teachers were trained up for 
64 



506 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

the change, and the pupils had become accustomed to it, the 
results would be most striking, and I do not consider the par- 
tial failure of the attempt, to which I have alluded, at Rugby, as 
at all conclusive. An experienced teacher in England made the 
remark to me, as a justificalion of the tendency to exclusively 
classical instruction in the secondary schools of Great Britain, 
that the nation having naturally a disposition to advance in 
material subjects, should be drawn away from them, and to- 
wards the ideal, by education; this was equivalent to saying 
that a nation should be educated against its nature and tenden- 
cies, which remark, it seems to me, need only be applied to the 
individuals forming the nation to show its fallacy. 

In support of my inference as to the character of the classi- 
cal instruction in the Prussian schools, it may not be amiss to 
observe, that if the nearly exclusively classical example which 
I have given in Harrow school, be compared as to its course 
of studies in classics with a Prussian gymnasium, it will be 
found that, except in the article of Greek and Latin verse, 
which is in little or no repute in most of the gymnasia, the 
classical studies of these latter are fully equivalent to those of 
the former. I take it for granted that at Harrow the course is 
thoroughly acquired, and know that such is really the case in 
the gymnasia which I visited. 

In regard to the methods of the British and Prussian schools 
in general, the recitation upon a lesson which has been 
studied from a text-book out of the school, used in the for- 
mer,, tends to foster habits of self-reliance, while that of min- 
gling much oral instruction with the recitations used in the lat- 
ter, renders the institiction more interesting to the pupils. 
When the latter method is employed, much less artificial sti- 
mulus from hope of reward or fear of punishment is necessary, 
and, if I may be permitted to judge from the examples which 
came under my notice in both countries, there is, on the ave- 
rage, more exertion on the part of a class in Prussia than in 
Great Britain. The prizes held out at the English grammar 
schools, in the way of scholarships at the universities, to those 
who distinguish themselves especially, insure a great amount of 



GENERAL REMARKS AND COMPARISONS. 507 

exertion on the part of young men of talent, whose subsequent 
success is appealed to as an evidence of the soundness of the 
system of instruction, with which it has little or nothing to do. 
The students find a similar stimulus at the university; a scho- 
larship may, if the time be duly improved, lead to a fellowship, 
and thus to an honourable provision for life. With such strong 
motives to great individual exertion, a youth of talent might 
succeed in educating himself even without aid, or were the 
school system ever so bad. 

In relation to the discipline in the similar secondary schools 
of Prussia and Great Britain, I would venture the remark, that 
in the former, it is generally much more advanced in its me- 
thod, motives, and results, than in the latter. There are, of 
course, exceptions to this remark. The kind of relation exist- 
ing habitually, especially in boarding-gymnasia, between the 
pupil and the teacher, in Prussia, is not unknown in Great 
Britain, but is an exception, and not the rule. In this respect, 
no doubt, a change is taking place, which will accelerate as it 
advances, and ultimately the principle will prevail, that the best 
interest of both pupil and teacher is to be found in the culti- 
vation of mutual regard. 

The organization of the systems of public instruction in 
Prussia and in France propagates a central influence through 
all parts of each, but by different means. Theoretically, the 
university of France is an empire within itself, with the grand 
master, actually the' minister of public instruction, as the head, 
assisted by the university council. The academies, presided 
over by their rectors and councils, constitute the divisions 
of this empire. The execution of the university law, as regards 
the estabhshments of secondary instruction, is vested directly 
in the governments of ihe academies, who legislate merely in 
certain matters of detail. The minister of public instruction is 
also the central authority in Prussia, but the legislative, as well 
as the executive power, belong to the school-board emanating 
from the consistory of each province. It is true, that general 
laws made by the central authority cannot be contravened, 
but the very general nature of these laws leaves mijch for 



508 GE\ERAL EDUCATIOX, SECONDARY PERIOD, 

regulation by the local authorities, as has been seen in the 
diverse plans of the different gymnasia which have been pre- 
sented in this Report. 

The institutions introductory to the universities may, accord- 
ing to law, in either country, be public or private; but in Prus- 
sia, the private institutions have been obliterated b}^ the public 
ones, and in France, are held in a miserable state of dependance 
upon them. Great efforts have been made, and are making, in 
the latter country, to free private secondary instruction from its 
trammels, and to enable it so far to compete with public instruc- 
tion, as to keep this latter in a sound state. There are two 
grades of public institutions in France, namely, the royal and 
communal colleges, and only one in Prussia, the gymnasia; the 
former plan leading, according to the best authorities, to the 
recognition of establishments entirely incompetent to fulfil the 
objects of this kind of instruction. 

The arrangement of academic degrees in Prussia and in 
France differs essentially, producing peculiarities in the intro- 
ductory institutions. The academic grades in the faculty of 
letters and of sciences, after the lowest grade, or bachelor, are 
entirely distinct in the university of France. The bachelor of 
sciences must have a sufficient knowledge of letters to qualify 
him for the lowest degree in that department, but this degree 
once taken by a member of the highest class of a college, he 
need never enter the faculty of letters of the university. The 
qualifications of the literary man in science, and of the scientific 
man in letters, are not necessarily so high in the French arrang- 
ment as in the Prussian, where there is but one set of degrees 
for both. The plan of degrees in the university of France has 
the advantage which the variation allowed in the courses in 
the Prussian secondary schools supplies, in part, of allowing 
minds of different complexions to choose their career. As it is 
not incumbent on the man of science to pursue the course of 
letters in a faculty, the courses of rhetoric and philosophy 
would, in general, be lost to him, if they were not placed in the 
college course: the close study of these branches in the colleges, 
and their entire omission, or the little attention paid to them in 



GEPfERAL REMARKS AND COMPARISONS. 509 

the gymnasia, are striking differences in the two systems of 
instruction. The academic degrees of Prussia can only be 
taken by study in the facuhies of the university, of which the 
secondary schools form no part: the corresponding ones in 
France are accessible to the youth leaving the colleges. 

The examinations, which in Prussia must precede the matri- 
culation at the university, are made in the gymnasia themselves, 
but under the direction of a special committee, while those for 
the degrees obtainable on leaving a French college are made 
in the university itself, and entirely by its authorities. The 
Prussian examinations are conducted in such a way as to ren- 
der the system of manuals, by which pupils may be worked up 
to the precise minimum of attainment, almost impossible. The 
candidates are known to at least a part of the examiners, 
their former teachers, and their attainments have been accu- 
rately ascertained by them in the class-rooms, before coming 
to this test. The actual examining bodies having, in general, 
only the pupils of one gymnasium before them, are physically 
able to make the examination a thorough one. On the con- 
trary, the examination for degrees in France, corresponding 
to those for the matriculation certificate in Prussia, are made 
in the university, by persons who are usually strangers to the 
pupils and their attainments, who have the arduous task of con- 
ducting the examination of all the candidates, and who are from 
these causes reduced to the necessity of rendering the examina- 
tion less thorough, and more formal, and hence of allowing the 
opportunity for superficial preparation by manuals. The mode 
adopted in Prussia would undoubtedly give the public institu- 
tions a great advantage over private ones, did any such exist 
as independent establishments. 

The use of written examinations in mathematics is adopted 
in the Prussian system, and not in the French, and with an 
originally strong prepossession in favour of the oral method. I 
now believe, from the facts which inquiry has brought before 
me, that the written form is a most valuable one, and that the 
two must be combined to give a thorough examination. 

The subjects of secondary instruction in France and Prussia 



510 GENERAL EDUCATION". SECONDARY PERIOD. 

are essentially the same, but the manner of introducing them 
differs in most important particulars. The branches taught in 
a Prussian gymnasium are all obligatory; only the degree of 
study in some minor ones is left to the student, and the Hebrew 
language is reserved for those who intend to study theology; 
the Latin, Greek, German, French, religious instruction, geo- 
graphy, history, mathematics, physics, natural history, writing, 
drawing, and vocal music, are all studies to be regularly fol- 
lowed. While these branches are equally component parts of 
the course of the French colleges, with the exception of vocal 
music, and with the addition of chemistry, the modern foreign 
lantjruaoie, drawincr, and writin";, do not enter into the regular 
course, but are voluntary, being, however, furnished at the ex- 
pense of the college. The branches which are not thus fur- 
nished can hardly be considered as parts of the instruction, 
being, as it were, merely tolerated. 

The manner in which the same materials of instruction are 
combined in the programme of a French college and of a Ger- 
man gymnasium is so different, that it appears like attempting 
to compare things not homogeneous with each other, to bring 
them together for such a purpose. A glance at the arrange- 
ments of any one class in the two cases will show better what 
I mean than any description of this peculiarity. The German 
programme appears to have been carefully studied, the propor- 
tion of its parts to have been carefully elaborated, the arrange- 
ments as to order of study and time of study to have been 
carefully considered, and the whole presents a better matured 
and more finished system than that of the French college. It 
does not appear in the recent annals of this kind of instruction 
in Prussia, to have been doubtful whether letters and science 
shall be taught simultaneously or successively, or whether na- 
tural history shall be taught in the beginning, middle, or end of 
the course. The entire arrangement appears to me to be more 
compact and better ordered. It will not require a lengthened 
discussion to substantiate these views; attention need be called 
only to a few points in illustration of them. The Prussian sys- 
tem lays down for the regular studies thirty to thirty-two hours 



GENERAL REMARKS AND COMPARISONS. 511 

per week for each class; the French includes but twenty-two 
hours. If from the thirty-two hours be taken the time allotted 
to studies considered voluntary in a French college, namely, 
six hours per week, the remainder, twenty-six hours, will still 
exceed by four hours the time occupied in the college reci- 
tations or lectures. The greater number of hours thus occu- 
pied is a real advantage in favour of the Prussian schools, since 
experience shows that thirty-two hours per week may be de- 
voted to recitation, and the private study requisite for prepara- 
tion be made by the student, without injury to his health. It 
cannot be doubted, from this comparison, that the branches 
composing the course of a gymnasium are more closely ex- 
amined than those of a college. The details of the distribution of 
time in the separate classes confirm this deduction; for example, 
the time occupied per week by Latin, Greek, and German, in 
the upper third class of a Prussian gymnasium, is eighteen 
hours, and in the lower third and upper second class, each, 
seventeen hours, while in the parallel classes of a French col- 
lege, in Latin, Greek, and French, but fourteen hours per week 
are employed. Further, the classical course is dropped entirely 
after the rhetoric class in the college, while in the gymnasium 
it extends to the close of the student's career. In regard to the 
scientific courses of the French colleges, the following points 
appear particularly worthy of notice. No instruction is given 
in mathematics higher than arithmetic, except two hours a 
week of geometry in the third class, until the pupil has reached 
the second class, in which, if he entered college at nine years of 
age, he arrives in his sixteenth year; and then all that he learns 
higher than this, if he follow the career of letters, is compressed 
into two years. Physics and chemistry for the student in this 
same career are taught in two lessons per week in the philosophy 
class. Natural history is thrown into the course of the sixth 
and fifth classes. A comparison of these defective arrange- 
ments with the regular instruction of the same branches, in their 
appropriate places in a Prussian gymnasium, fully justify the 
remarks with which this paragraph commenced. Having at- 
tended the examination for the de2;ree of bachelor of sciences 



512 GENERAL EDUCATION. SEGONDARV PERIOD. 

at Paris, and heard recitations in tiie Prussian gymnasia, 1 am 
satisfied that the conclusions in regard to the superiority of the 
Prussian instruction in science are entirely just. The subject 
of religious instruction is one of such peculiar delicacy, that I 
am most happy to be able to submit the views of a high au- 
thority in public instruction in France, instead of my own, in 
regard to it, merely observing that I coincide, on this point, en- 
tirely in opinion with the authority to which I refer. M. Cousin 
says: — " There is no class in the Prussian gymnasium which has 
not a course of religious instruction, as it has of classical or of 
mathematical instruction. I have before said, and now repeat, 
that worship, with its ceremonies, can never be sufficient for 
young men who reflect, and who are imbued with the spirit 
of the times. A true religious instruction is indispensable, and 
no subject is better adapted to a regular, full, and varied in- 
struction than Christianity, with a history which goes back to 
the beginning of the world, and is connected with all the great 
events in that of the human race, with its dogmas, which 
breathe a sublime metaphysics, its morality, which combines 
severity with indulgence, with its general literary monuments, 
from Genesis to the universal history."* Such an instruction 
M. Cousin demands for the colleges of his country, declaring 
that, though established by law, it does not now exist in them. 
The courses of I'hetoric and philosophy, to which a considerable 
portion of time is given for the last two years of the student of 
letters, and an introduction to which begins even in the second 
class, are the chief ornaments of the course of the French 
colleges, and the sacrifices required by their introduction are 
amply compensated by their effect. The Prussian system post- 
pones these courses to the university period, and requires every 
student who wishes to matriculate in other faculties, to go 
through them. The bachelor of letters, on leaving a French 
college, may begin at once the study of theology or of law, 
and the bachelor of sciences that of medicine. The German 

* Cousin. Memoire sur I'instruction secoudaire dans le royaume de Prusse. 
Paris, 1837, p. 143. 



GENERAL REMARKS AND COMPARISONS. ' 513 

student must pass through the faculty of philosophy before he 
can begin the study of either of these professions. In regard 
to modern languages, the new recommendations for the Prus- 
sian gymnasia appear to me to placethe French on a worse 
footing than before, but still a better one than that occupied by 
English and German in the French colleges. I cannot help 
hoping that this movement will not be followed up, and that the 
reasons for retaining the modern languages, as parts of a liberal 
education, will be found too strong to admit of their being so 
easily disposed of as appears to be assumed in the circular from 
the Prussian ministry, which doefs not appear to have put forth 
its strength upon this question. 

The methods of instruction in the French colleges, in the 
lower classes, resemble those of the English schools, with the 
advantage, that the pupils have the directors of studies to aid 
them when necessary. There are lectures, as well as recita- 
tions, in the higher classes, as in the gymnasia. In both the 
French and Prussian institutions there is a want of apparatus 
for illustration. In the courses of physics and natural history, 
it having once been determined that such instruction is essential, 
the implements necessary to teach to the best advantage should 
not be left wanting. 

The government of the French colleges differs essentially 
from that of the boarding-gymnasia of Prussia. The question, 
whether it is advantageous to establish a boarding system in 
the midst of the residences of the parents of pupils, as in France, 
or to establish day-schools, as the Pussian gymnasia, is one 
that depends much upon national manners. My own convic- 
tions are, in the general, in favour of the Prussian system in 
this respect, and of encouraging the means of strengthening do- 
mestic ties, by leaving youth under parental control. The chief 
officer of the Prussian gymnasia, boarding as well as others, the 
director, or rector, is a teacher as well as a governor, while 
the provisor of the French college does not teach. The former 
arrangement has the advantage of bringing the director into 
contact with the pupils more closely; the latter allows a more 
thorough superintendence of instruction, discipline, and police. 
65 



514 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

When the number of pupils is not very great, the former 
arrangement is, I believe, the more advantageous. It is, how- 
ever, a matter almost of necessity, in institutions having such a 
numerous body of students as the Parisian colleges in general, 
that the presiding officer should haveno other charge than that 
of superintendence, and it may further be desirable that he 
should be assisted by a censor, the second officer of the French 
college. There are no equivalent officers in the boarding- 
gymnasia of Prussia to the directors of studies, who have 
charge of the pupils during the study hours in the French col- 
leges. One of the teachers, as at Schulpforta, takes a weekly 
turn to superintend the pupils, dwelling near them during the 
period of duty. This arrangement answers well, with the aid 
of the pupils selected to superintend sections, for a small num- 
ber of students, but would be entirely inefficient in a Parisian 
college. The directors of studies are most important officers in 
Ihese institutions, especially as they arc required to be compe- 
tent to teach as well as to superintend, and the selection of 
them from among the adjuncts (agreges), who are expectants 
of promotion, is an excellent arrangement. The professors 
and teachers in the French colleges, in Paris, are on the foot- 
ing of the instructors in the Prussian day-gymnasia, living 
out of the institution, and having nothing to do with the dis- 
cipline out of the recitation hours. This system has, no 
doubt, advantages, but the controlling disadvantage is the di- 
minution of the moral influence of the teacher over the pu- 
pil. It is especially necessary, in establishments where young 
men are crowded together, and separated from the whole- 
some restraints of home and domestic discipline, to foster, by 
all means, the moral influence of the teacher, and to bring 
the pupil as near to him as possible. This is not done when 
the professor merely meets the student in the recitation or lec- 
ture-room for a few hours every day, and during the remainder 
of the time has no active care of, or interest in, his welfare. The 
existence of directors of studies is by no means incompatible 
with such a supervision by the professors. In both the French 
and Prussian institutions the highest oflicer, the pro visor or 



GENERAL REMARKS AXD COMPARISONS. 515 

director, administers the discipline, and the tone of it depends 
upon his character. The superintendence by pupils of sections 
of their fellows, is not allowed to decrenerate into the "faararino- 
system," the pupils being selected for the office, and constantly 
superintended by the teachers. From the location of the Parisian 
colleges, the details of their arrangements are not comparable 
with those of a Prussian country gymnasium. 

The inducements to study are of a much more excitino^ kind 
in the French colleges than in the Prussian gym.nasia. Both 
have a system of places in the class, differently arranged for 
the higher and lower classes, and both grade the pupils on leav- 
ing the institution. But in the French college there is a most 
powerful, I may say an excessive, stimulus from prizes, not only 
in the establishment, but from a comparison with others, and 
public attention is called to the successful youth, who is rewarded 
under the notice of the community of scholars, the university, 
and the public at large: his career depends upon successful com- 
petition from one step to another, until he has reached the higher 
places of society, and his selfish feelings are constantly and 
directly stimulated. It is more easy to feel than to describe 
the influence of the minute particulars which constitute public 
scholastic sentiment, and which produce a very different atmo- 
sphere in the two classes of institutions. Emulation is not dis- 
couraged in the gymnasia, and intellectual and moral qualities are 
held in due esteem; but the development of mind is controlled by 
that of the moral sentiments, and there is in consequence less of 
strong personal rivalry than in the colleges. The reciprocal ac- 
tion of national character and education is so powerful, that it 
would be rash, w^ithout a much deeper examination than I can 
profess to have made, to say how far these differences are effects 
or causes. It is my duty to note them, and to comment freely 
upon theni for our advantage, leaving the judgment to more 
competent minds. 

With all the stimulus of the French colleges, there is one pre- 
caution neglected, which strikes at the root of the competency 
of the mass of students. The law in regard to stated half-yearly 
examinations is not executed. Incompetent students, unless 



r»lG tiENTERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

grossly so, pass regularly forward with the competent into the 
higher classes. There is one period, in passing from the fourtli 
to the third class, at which an examination has heen applied, 
and with advantage; but there are three classes before tho 
fourth, through which the students pass as a matter of course. 
It is obvious, that with so loose a system, the examinations for 
degrees must be relaxed, or the examiners take upon themselves 
a heavy responsibility. The regular examinations of the Prus- 
sian gymnasia allbrd the means of discovering the incompetent 
year by year, a result favourable both to the youths who are 
thus thrown into other careers, and to those who remain con- 
nected with these institutions. 

The means for supplying teachers for secondary instruction 
must, I think, be admitted, so far as the normal school is con- 
cerned, to be superior in France to those of Prussia. The 
central normal school of Paris is certainly more advantageous 
than the detached philological and pedagogical seminaries of 
Prussia. This school is kej)t in vigour by competition from 
without, which, while it opens the career of instruction to 
those 3'oung men who may not be able from circumstances 
to avail themselves of the advantages of the normal school, 
reacts favourably upon the school itself. The candidate for 
the normal school must be at least a bachelor of letters, and 
must compete lor his place. After going through its courses, 
he again passes through the severe ordeal of a competition for 
the place of adjunct (agroge), in which he may be attached to 
some particular institution or not. In this place the powers 
of a young man arc developed, and from it, if meritorious, he 
may rise in his career. The equivalent plan in Prussia secures 
competent instructors, but does not oflcr to them the advantages 
of the normal school 

In both France and Prussia, teachers are exempted from 
regular military service, and are entitled to retiring pensions 
in proportion to their services.* 

* I do not speak of tlic relative conipiMisiition of the ofllcers of colleges and 
gymnasia, because, as before stated, they arc most fallacious tests, unless ex- 
amined in connexion with a variety of statistical matters, which make the unit 
of coniiKiisalion of different values in different countries. 



REAL SCHOOLS OF RERLIPf. 517 

DIVISION SECOND. 

SECONDARY mSTRUCTlON IN PRUSSIA. 

In continuation, I propose to give an account of two schools 
at Berlin, which furnish secondary instruction of a kind in- 
tended to prepare youth for professions not included in the list 
of those called learned, and for other occupations requiring a 
considerable intellectual training, with the acquisition of spe- 
cial preparatory knowledge. 

ROYAL REAL SCHOOL OF BERLIN. 

The first of these, in point of date, is the Royal Real School 
of Berlin. It was founded as early as 1717, by Counsellor 
Hecker, whose name has already been used in connexion with 
some of the education reforms by Frederick the Great. At the 
period in which this school was founded, Latin and Greek 
were the exclusive objects of study in the learned schools, and 
the avowed purpose of this establishment was that " not nriere 
words should be taught to the pupils, but realities, explanations 
being made to them from nature, from models and plans, and 
of subjects calculated to be useful in after life." Hence the 
school was called a " real school," and preserves this name, 
indicative of the great educational I'eform which it was in- 
tended to promote, and the success of which has been, though 
slow, most certain. 

The successor of Hecker, in 17G1), divided this flourishing 
scliool into three departments, the pedagogium, or learned 
school, the school of arts, and the German school: the whole 
establishment still retaining the title of real school. The first 
named department was subsequently separated from the others, 
constituting the Frederick William gymnasium; the school of 
arts, and the German, or elementary school, remain combined 
under the title of the royal real school. The same director, 
however, still presides over the gymnasium and the real school. 

The f|UCstion has been much agitated, whether the modern 



518 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

languages sliould be considered in these schools as the substi- 
tutes for the ancient in intellectual education, or whether ma- 
thematics and its kindred branches should be regarded in this 
light. Whether the original principle of the " realities" on 
which the schools were founded, was to be adhered to, or the 
still older of verbal knowledge, only with a change of languages, 
to be substituted for it. In this school the languages will be 
found at present to occupy a large share of attention, while in 
the similar institution, a description of which follows this, the 
sciences have the preponderance. 

In the royal real school the branches of instruction are — reli- 
gion, Latin, French, English, German, physics, natural history, 
chemistry, history, geography, drawing, writing, and vocal 
music. The Latin is retained as practically useful in some 
brances of trade, as in pharmacy, as aiding in the nomenclature 
of natural history, and as preventing a separation in the classes of 
this school and that of the gymnasium, which would debar the 
pupils from passing from the former to the latter in the upper 
classes. It must be admitted that, for all purposes but the last, 
it occupies an unnecessary degree of attention, especially in the 
middle classes. 

The following table shows the distribution of time among the 
courses. There are seven classes in numerical order, but ten, 
in fact, the third, fourth, and fifth being divided into two ; the 
lower fourth is again, on account of its numbers, subdivided 
into two parallel sections. Of these, the seventh, sixth, and 
fifth are elementary classes, the pupils entering the seventh at 
between five and seven years of age. In the annexed table the 
number of hours of recitation per week of each class in the 
several subjects is stated, and the vertical column separating the 
elementary classes from the others, contains the sum of the hours 
devoted to each branch in the higher classes, excluding the 
lower section of the fourth class, which has not a distinct course 
from that of the other division. 



A REAL SCHOOL OF BERLIPf. 



519 



Table, showing the number of hours of recitation per week, of each class, in the 
subjects taught in the Royal Real School of Berlin. 



























Proportion of 
other studies to 


SUBJECTS 

OF 

STUDY. 




a 

c 
o 
o 

m 


•< 

O 


cd 
O 


-< 

a 
O 

r. 
1 


d 3 
o o 


1"" 

1 1 

■J2 ^ 


< 


CQ 


O 


O 

c 
o 

1 


German in the 


o 
m 

o 


O 
to ^ 


In all the classes of the 
Fred'k. Wm. Gymn. 


Latin, .... - 


4 


4 


4 


5 


6 


5 


6 


28 










1.4 


2.9 


3.7 


French, . . . - 


4 


4 


4 


3 


3 


4 


4 


22 


4 


5 






1.1 


0.7 


0.9 


English, . . . - 


2 


2 


2 










6 










0,3 






German, ... - 


3 


3 


3 


4 


3 


4 


4 


20 


8 


8 


10 


10 


1.0 


0.8 


1.0 


Religion, . - - - 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 


12 


2 


3 


2 


2 


0.6 


0.6 


0.8 


Mathematics,* - - 


6 


6 


5 


6 


7 


6 


4 


35 


4 


3 


6 


6 


1.7 


1.1 


1.6 


Natural History, 


3 


2 


2 


2 








9 










0.4 


O.lt 


0.1 


Physics, .... 


2 


2 


2 


2 








8 










0.4 


0.2t 


0.2 


Chemistry, - - - 




2 


2 


2 








8 










0.4 






Geography, - - - 








3 


3 


3 


3 


9 


2 


2 


2 




0.4 


0.5 


0.5 


History, .... 


3 


3 


3 


2 


2 


2 


2 


15 


2 


2 


2 




0.7 


0.3 


0.7 


Drawing, - - - - 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 


12 










0.6 


0.4 


0.4 


Writing, . . - - 










2 


2 


2 


4 


4 


4 


G 


8 


0.2 


0.3 


0.3 


Singing, .... 


2 


4 


3 


2 


2 


2 


2 


15 










0.7 


0.6 


0.6 


Total, - 


36 


36 


35 


35 


32 


32 


32 




26 


26 26 26 









* Including arithmetic, geometry, algebra, and trigonometry, 
t These numbers include the entire course. 



520 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

Pupils who enter this school between five and seven years of 
age, and go regularly through the elementary classes, are pre- 
pared at ten to pass to its higher classes, or to enter the lowest 
of the gymnasium. It is thus after the fifth class that a com- 
parison of the two institutions must begin. The studies of the 
real school proper, and of the gymnasium, have exactly the same 
elementary basis, and they remain so far parallel to each other 
that a pupil, by taking extra instruction in Greek, may pass from 
the lower third class of the former to the lower third of the latter. 
This fact alone is sufficient to show that the real schools must 
he institutions for secondary instruction, since their pupils have, 
yet three classes to pass through after reaching the point just,, 
referred to. It serves also to separate the real schools from 
the higher burgher schools, since the extreme Umit of the courses 
of the latter, with the same assistance in regard to Greek, 
only enables the pupil to reach the lower third class of the 
gymnasium. In general, a pupil would terminate his studies 
in the real school at between sixteen and eighteen years of 
age. The diflerence between the subjects of instruction in the 
real school and the Frederick William gymnasium, consists in 
the omission in the former of Greek, Hebrew, and philosophy, 
and the introduction of English and chemistry. The relative 
proportions of time occupied in the same subjects in the two 
schools, will be seen by comparing the two columns next on 
the right of the numbers for the seventh class, in the table just 
given. The first of these columns contains the proportion of 
the number of hours per week devoted to the different subjects 
in the six classes of the real school above the elementary, the 
number of hours devoted to the German being taken as unity; 
and the second, the same proportion for six classes of the gym- 
nasium, beginning with the lowest, the same number of hours 
being taken as the unit, as in the preceding column. To bring 
the natural history and physics into comparison, I have taken 
the numbers for the upper classes of the gymnasium in which 
these branches are taught. Of the courses common to the two 
schools, those to which nearly equal attention is paid in both 



A REAL SCHOOL OF BERLIX, 521 

institutions are — the religious instruction, the German, geogra- 
phy and history, writing, and vocal music. The French, ma- 
thematics, pliysics, and natural history, predominate in the real 
school, the Latin in the gymnasium. The effect of reckoning 
the first, second, and upper third classes of the gymnasium does 
not materially change the proportionate numbers for the courses 
which are common to the two schools, except as to Latin and 
mathematics. To show this, the column on the extreme right 
of the table is introduced, containing the proportions for all the 
nine classes of the Frederick William gymnasium. 

There were, in 1838, five hundred and ten pupils in this real 
school, under the charge of fourteen regular or class masters, 
teaching several subjects in the lower classes, and of six other 
teachers. Each of the eleven class divisions thus averages 
about forty-six, who are under the charge of one teacher at a 
time. 

The elementary course in the real school is similar to that 
described in the burgher schools, beginning with the phonic 
method of reading, the explanations of all the words and sen- 
tences being required at the same time that the mechanical part 
of reading is learned. Written and mental arithmetic are taught 
together in the lowest class. The religious instruction consists 
of Bible stories adapted to their age; and verses are committed 
to improve the memory of words. The exercises of induction 
are practised, but in a way not equal to that with objects, intro- 
duced by Dr. Mayo in England. Some of the pupils are able 
to enter the gymnasium after going through the two lowest 
classes. 

In regard to the real classes proper, as I propose to enter 
into the particulars of the course of study of the trade school, I 
shall here merely make a few remarks upon two of the branches 
studied in them, namely, French and drawing. The remarks in 
regard to the French will serve to show how great a latitude a 
teacher is allowed in the arrangement of his methods, the result of 
which is, that those who have talent are interested in improving 
their art by observation and experiment. The French teacher to 
66 



522 GENERAL EDUCATIOX. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

whom I allude* had been able to secure the speaking, as well 
as the reading, of French from his pupils. From the very 
beginning of the course tiiis had been a point attended to, and 
translation from French into German had been accompanied by 
that from German into French: the conversation on the business 
of the class-room was in French. The pupils were exercised 
especially in the idioms of the language in short extempore sen- 
tences, and the difTerences of structure of the French and their 
own language were often brought before them, and the dif- 
ficulties resulting from them anticipated. Difficult words and ' 
sentences were noted by the pupils. Declamation was prac- 
tised to encourage a habit of distinct and deliberate speaking, 
and to secure a correct pronunciation. The chief burthen of 
the instruction was orak Without the stimulus of change of 
places, the classes under this gentleman's instruction were en- 
tirely alive to the instruction, and apparently earnestly engaged 
in the performance of a duty which interested them. If such 
methods should fail in communicating a greater amount of 
knowledge than less lively ones, which I believe cannot be the 
case, they will serve, at least, to break down habits of intel- 
lectual sloth and to promote mental activity, the great aim of 
intellectual education. 

The drawing department of this school is superintended by a 
teacher who has introduced a new method of instruction, par- 
ticularly adapted to the purpose for which drawing is to be 
applied in common life and in the arts; a method which is 
found to enable a much larger proportion of the pupils to make 
adequate progress than the ordinary one of copying from draw- 
ings.f In this method the pupil begins by drawing from sim- 
ple geometrical forms, those selected being obtained from mo- 
dels in wood or plaster, of a square pillar.J a niche, and a low 
cyUnder (the form of a mill-stone). The square pillar separates 

* Mr. Herrmann. 

t Mr. Peter Schmidt, who now, in Jiis old age, has received from tlie govern- 
ment a pension in return for the introduction of his method, and the instruction 
in it of a certain number of teachers. 

t Seven and a-half inches high, and one inch and a-half in its square section. 



CITY TRADE SCHOOL OF BERLIN. 523 

in joints, affording a cube and parallelopipeds of different heights. 
The hemisphere which caps the niche may be removed, leav- 
ing the concave surface of its cylindrical part. The exercises 
of the pupil run thus: — First, to place upon a board, or upon his 
paper or slate, a point vertically above another, or so that the 
lines joining the two shall be parallel to the right or left hand 
edge of the board, paper, or slate. Second, to join them. Third, 
to place a point horizontally from the second, and at a distance 
equal to that between the first and second points. Fourth, to 
place one vertically over the third, and at a distance equal to 
that below the first, and to join the third and fourth. The first 
and fourth being then joined, a square is formed. After prac- 
tice in this, the simple elevation of the cube is drawn. Next, a 
perspective, by the use of a small frame and silk threads, such 
as is common in teaching the elements of this subject, and by 
means of which the pupil acquires readily a knowledge of the 
practice. The drawing of lines in various positions, and with 
various proportions, terminates this division of the subject. The 
niche and cylinder afford a similarly graduated series of lessons 
on the drawing of curved lines, and the drawing of lines of dif- 
ferent deo;rees of strength and of shadows is introduced. This 
is accompanied with some of the more simple rules of shadow 
and shade. More difficult exercises of perspective follow from 
natural objects and from works of art or mechanism, accord- 
ing to the direction to be given to the pupil's attainments and 
the amount of taste which he displays. This method of teach- 
ing has been introduced quite generally in Prussia, and with 
the best results as to the formation of accuracy of eye and of 
hand. 

CITY TRADE SCHOOL OF BERLIN. 
This school was founded to give a more appropriate educa- 
tion for the mechanic arts and higher trades than can be had 
through the courses of classical schools. It is a great point 
gained when the principle is admitted, that different kinds of 
education are suited to different objects in life; and such an 



524 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

admission belongs to an advanced stage of education. As a 
consequence of a general sentiment of this kind, numerous 
schools for the appropriate instruction of those not intended for 
the learned professions grow up by the side of the others. The 
youth is thus secured a suitable education, no matter what may 
be his intended calling, and is not forced to accept a training 
necessarily imperfect, from the time which he can devote to it, 
and furnishing him with but little of the knowledge which he 
requires in his pursuits. This sentiment prevails extensively in 
Prussia, and, indeed, throughout Germany, and as a conse- 
quence of it, there are better opportunities for the instruction of 
young men, not intended for the learned professions, than in 
any other part of Europe. 

The city of Berlin is the patron of the trade school which I 
am about to notice, as the king is of the real school, already 
spoken of. Its stability is thus secured, and the means of fur- 
nishing it with the necessary materials for instruction are 
liberally provided.* The trade school is a day-school, and 
consists of five classes, of which the lowest is on the same 
grade as to age and qualification at admission as the fourth 
class of a gymnasium. It is assumed that at twelve years of 
age it will have been decided whether a youth is to enter one 
of the learned professions, or to follow a mechanical employ- 
ment, or to engage in trade, but the higher classes are not 
closed against pupils. Of the five classes, four are considered 
necessary or desirable for certain pursuits, and the whole 
five for others; the courses of all but the first class last one 
year, that of the first, two years — a youth leaving the school 
at from sixteen to seventeen or eighteen years of age, accord- 
ing to circumstances. During the year 1836-7, the number 
of pupils in the several classes were — in the first class, 
eleven; in the second, twenty-nine; in the upper third, forty- 
three; in the lower third, fifty-two; in the fourth, fifty; total one 

* The present director of this school, Mr. Kl0den,was formerly director of the 
higher burgher school at Potsdam, and is one of the most distinguished teachers 
in his line in Prussia. 



CITY TRADE SCHOOL OF BERLIIV. 525 

hundred and eighty-five; from which numbers it appears that a 
considerable proportion of the pupils leave the school without 
entering the first class. The number of teachers is nineteen, 
five being regular or class teachers, and fourteen assistants. 
The director gives instruction. 

The following list of the callings to which pupils from this 
school have gone on leaving it, will show that it is really what 
it professes to be, a school for the instruction of those who 
intend to follow occupations connected with "commerce, the 
useful arts, higher trades, building, mining, forestry, agriculture, 
and military life;" and further, that its advantages are appre- 
ciated by the class for whom it is intended. The list includes 
the pupils who have left the school from the first and second 
classes in the years 1830, 1832, 1833, and 1837. From the 
first class, two teachers, five architects, one chemist, twenty-six 
merchants, one inachinist, two calico-printers, two glass-work- 
ers, one cloth-manufacturer, one silk-manufacturer, one miner, 
thirteen agriculturalists, eight apothecaries, two gardeners, one 
painter, one mason, one carpenter, one tanner, one miller, one 
baker, one potter, one saddler, one soap-boiler, one cabinet- 
maker, two soldiers, one musician, five to public ofiices, one to 
the trade institution, six to a gymnasium. From the second 
class, forty-one merchants, one teacher, one chemist, one ma- 
chinist, one ship-carpenter, nine agriculturalists, one sugar- 
refiner, three dyers, one tanner, one brewer, two distillers, one 
miner, two lithographers, one die-sinker, three apothecaries, 
one dentist, two painters, two gardeners, three masons, five 
carpenters, one miller, four bakers, one butcher, one to the 
trade institution, three to public offices, two to a gymnasium, 
one musician, one veterinary surgeon, one soldier — being ninety 
from the first class, and ninety-seven from the second, in the 
period of four years. 

In the course of instruction the sciences and kindred branches 
are made the basis, and the modern languages are employed 
as auxiliaries, the ancient languages being entirely omitted. 
The subjects embraced in it are — religious instruction, German, 



526 GENERAL EDUCATIOX. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

French, English, geography, history, mathematics, physics, 
chemistry, technology, natural history, writing, drawing, and 
vocal music. 

The time apportioned to each of these subjects in the five 
classes will be seen in the following table, which contains be- 
sides, a comparison of the time devoted to the different branches 
in this school, with five classes nearly corresponding to them, 
of the real school, and the same number of the Frederick Wil- 
liam gymnasium. In this comparison the number of hours of 
religious instruction, which is nearly the same in the three, is 
assumed as the unit of the proportion. In other respects the 
table is arranged as the foregoing, and the headings of the 
several columns indicate the nature of the numbers contained 
in them. 



CITY TRADE SCHOOL OF BERLm* 



627 



Table of the distribution 
with a comparison with 
Gymnasium, 



of studies in the City Trade School of Berlin, 
the Royal Real School and the Frederick William 





NO. OF 


HOURS 


PER 


WEEK 




Proportion of the 
















conrscs to the re- 
















ligious instruc- 
















tion in the Trade 
















School, as unity. 


SUBJECTS 

OP 
















o 


2 




INSTRUCTION. 




to 






s 




13 


o 

m 2 


sses of 
k Will 
um. 










_c 










ra o «> 




C3 
O 


a 
o 
u 




o 


•5 

o 


o 


s 




1 five c 
Frederi 
Gymna 




P4 


a-j 


& 


hJ 


k< 


H 


l-H 


t-H 


1— 1 


Religion, .... 


1 


2 


2 


2 


2 


9 


1.0 


1.1 


1.1 


German, ..... 


3 


3 


4 


4 


4 


18 


2.0 


1.8 


1.2 


French, ..... 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


20 


2.2 


2.0 


1.1 


English, ..... 


2 


2 








4 


0.4 


0.7 




Arithmetic, .... 


3 


3 


4 


4 


4 


18 


2.0 


V3.3 


C2.I 


Geometry, .... 


o 


3 


3 


3 


2 


14 


1.6 


J 


J 


Geography, . . . - 




2 


2 


2 


2 


8 


0.9 


0.7 


0.7 


History, ..... 


3 


1 








4 


0.4 


1.4 


1.1 


Natural History, . . 


2 


3 


3 


3 


2 


13 


1.4 


1.0 


0.2* 


Physics, .... - 


3 




2 


2 


2 


9 


1.0 


0.9 


0.4* 


Chemistry, . . . - 




3 


2 


2 




7 


0.8 


0.9 




Technology, ... 


4 










4 


0.4 






■Writing, 






2 


2 


2 


6 


0.7 


0.2 


0.2 


Drawing, .... 


4 


4 


2 


2 


2 


14 


1.6 


1.1 


0.4 


Vocal Music, • - - 
Total, . 


2 
34 


2 
32 


2 
32 


2 
32 


2 
28 


10 


1.1 


1.4 


1.1 









* The entire course. 



628 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

The courses of Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and philosophy, of the 
gymnasium, are replaced in this school by English, chemistry, 
and technology, with an increased attention to the kindred 
branches. Thus the French occupies double the time devoted 
in the parallel classes of the gymnasia; and if the whole of the 
eight gymnasial classes be reckoned, the proportion will still 
be as twenty to eighteen in favour of the trade school. Mathe- 
matics, in like manner, occupies more time in the trade school, 
in the parallel classes, in the proportion of 3.6 to 2.1; natural 
history, in that of 1.4 to 0.2; physics, of 1.0 to 0.4; drawing, 
of 1.6 to 0.4. 

The courses are fully laid down in the following list,* be- 
ginning with the studies of the lowest, or fourth class. 

Fourth Class. 

Religious Instruction^ The Gospel according to St. Luke and the Acts of the 
Apostles explained, with a catechetical development of the truths of religion and 
ethical applications. Two hours per week. 

German. Grammatical exercises in writing. Recital of poetical pieces. 

French. Grammatical exercises. Regular and irregular verbs. Reading from 
Laurens' Reader. One hour of conversation. Four hours.t 

Arithmetic, Mental and written, including proportions and fractions, with the 
theory of the operations. Four hours. 

Geometry. Introductory course of forms. Two hours. 

Geography. Elementary, mathematical, and physical geography. Two hours. 

Natural History. In the summer term, elements of botany, with excursions. 
In the winter, the external characters of animals. Two hours. 

Physics. Introductory instruction. General properties of bodies. Forms of 
crystals, specific gravity, &c. Two hours. 

Writing. Two hours. 

Drawing. Outline drawing and shadows, from models and copy-boards. Two 
hours. 

Vocal Music. Two hours. 

Lower Third Cijass. 

Religious Instruction. The Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles read and 
explained. Two hours. 

* Taken from the programme for 1836-7, for which, with other documents 
mentioned in the Appendix, and a full opportunity to visit this interesting school, I 
am indebted to director Kloden. 

t Roman Catholic pupils are not required to take part in this instruction, 
which is communicated by a Protestant clergyman. 

t The same teacher instructs this class to whose course I have referred in the 
notice of the Royal Real School, 



CITY TRADE SCHOOL OF BERLIN. 529 

Oerman. Grammar, with special reference to orthography and etymology. 
Written exercises upon narrations made by the teacher. Dehvery of poetical 
pieces. Four hours. 

French. Translation from French into German, from Gedike's Chrestomathy. 
Grammar; irregular verbs. Extemporalia, and translations from German into 
French. Four hours. 

Arithmetic. Partly abstract, partly practical, from Diesterweg's Instructor. 
Four hours. 

Geometry. Determination of angles in triangles and polygons. Equality of 
triangles. Dependance of angles and sides of triangles. Constructions. Three 
hours. 

Geography. Physical description of the parts of the earth, except Europe. Two 
hours. 

Natural History. Mineralogy. In summer, botany, the class making excur- 
sions for practical exercise. Man. Three hours. 

Physics. General properties of bodies and solids in particular. Doctrines of 
lieat, and their application to natural phenomena and the arts. Two hours. 

Chemistry. Introduction. Atmospheric air. Experimental illustrations of 
cliemistry, applied to the arts. Two hours. 

Writing. Two hours. Architectural and topographical drawing. Two hours. 
Drawing by hand, for those who do not take part in the other. Two hours. 

Vocal Music. Two hours. 

Upper Third Class. 

Religious Instruction. Cliristian morals, from Luther's Catechism. Two 
hours. 

German. Simple and complex sentences. Compositions on special subjects. 
Poems explained and committed. Four hours, 

French. Translation from Gedike's Clirestomathy, oral and in writing. 
Written translations from Beauvais' Introduction, from German into French. 
Grammar, examples treated extempore. Four hours. 

Arithmetic. Properties of numbers. Powers, Roots. Decimal fractions. 
Practical arithmetic from Diesterweg. Four hours. 

Geometry. Similar figures. Geometrical proportion. Exercises. Mensura- 
tion of rectilinear figures. Three hours. 

Geography. Physical geograpliy of Europe, and in particular of Germany and 
Prussia. Two hours. 

Natural History. Continuation of the mineralogy of the lower Uiird class. 
Review in outline of zoology and the natural history of man in particular. Bo- 
tany, witli excursions in summer. Three hours. 

Physics. Electricity and magnetism, with experiments. Two hours. 

Chemistry. Water and non-metallic bodies, with experiments. Two hours. 

Writing. Two hours. Architectural and topographical drawing. Two 
hours. Some of the pupils, during this time, are engaged in ornamental drawing. 

Vocal Music. Two hours. 

SecoiNd Class. 
Religious Instruction. Explanation of the first three Gospels. History of the 
Christian religion and church, to the Rcfoiinatiou, Two hours. 
67 



530 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

German. Correction of exercises written at home, upon subjects assigned by 
the teacher. Oral and written exercises. Introduction to the history of German 
poetry. Three hours. 

French. Grammar; extemporalia for the application of the rules. Written 
and oral translations from German into French, from Beauvais' Manual, and vice 
versa, from Ideler and Nolte's Manual. Four hours. 

English. Exercises in reading and spealiing. Translation into German, from 
Burkhardt. Dictation. Verbs. Two hours. 

Arithmetic. Commercial arithmetic. Algebra, to include simple and quadratic 
equations. Logarithms. Three hours. 

Geometry. Circles. Analytical and plane trigonometry. Three hours. 

Geography. The States of Europe, with special reference to their population, 
manufactures, and commerce. Two hours. 

History. Principal events of the history of the middle ages and of later times, 
as an introduction to recent history. One hour. 

Natural History. Mineralogy. Physiology of plants. Three hours. 

Chemistry. Metallic bodies and their compounds, with experiments. Three 
hours. 

Architectural, topographical, and plan drawing. Drawing with instruments. 
Introduction to India ink drawing. Beginning of the science of constructions. 
Two hours. 

Drawing. From copies, and from plaster and other models. Two hours. 
This kind of drawing may be learned instead of the above. 

Vocal Music. Two hours. 

First Class. 

Religious Instruction. History of the Christian religion and chtirch continued. 
References to the Bible. One hour. 

German. History of German literature to recent times. Essays. Exercises 
of delivery. Three hours. 

French. Reading from the manual of Btichner and Herrmann, with abstracts. 
Classic authors read. Review of Grammar. Exercises at home and extempO' 
ralia. Free delivery. Correction of exercises. Four hours. 

English. Syntax, with written and extempore exercises from Burkhardt. 
Reading of classic authors. Writing of letters. Exercises in speaking. 

Arithmetic. Algebra. Simple and quadratic equations. Binomial and poly- 
nomial theorems. Higher equations. Commercial arithmetic continued. Three 
hours. 

Geometry. Plane trigonometry and its applications. Conic sections. De- 
scriptive geometry. Three hours. 

History. History of the middle ages. Modern history, with special reference 
to the progress of civilization, of inventions, discoveries, and of commerce and 
industry. Three hours. 

Natural History. In summer, botany, the principal families, according to the 
natural system. In winter, zoology. The pupils are taken, for the purpose of 
examining specimens, to the Royal Museum. 

Physics. In summer, optics with experiments. In winter, the system of the 
world. Three hours. 



CITY TRADE SCHOOL OF BERLIN". 531 

Technology. Chemical and mechanical arts and trades described and illus- 
trated by models. Excursions to visit the principal work-shops. Four hours. 

Architectural and machine drawing. Two hours. Those pupils who do not 
take part in this, receive lessons in ornamental drawing from plaster models. 

Vocal Music. Two hours. 

The pupils of this class are, besides, engaged in manipulating in the laboratory 
of the institution several hours each week. 

The courses require a good collection of apparatus and spe- 
cimens to carry them out, and tliis school is, in fact, better 
furnished than any other of its grade which I saw in Prussia, 
besides which, its collections are on the increase. The facilities 
for the courses are furnished by a collection of mathematical 
and physical apparatus, a laboratory, with a tolerably complete 
chemical apparatus and series of tests, a collection of speci- 
mens of the arts and manufactures (or technological collection), 
a collection of dried plants, and of engravings for the botanical 
course, with a small garden for the same use, a collection of 
minerals, a collection of insects, a collection in comparative 
anatomy, a series of engravings for the drawing course, and of 
plaster models, a set of maps, and other apparatus for geo- 
graphy, some astronomical instruments, and a library. The 
pupils are taken, from time to time, to the admirable museum 
attached to the university of Berlin, for the examination of zoo- 
logical specimens especially. 

That this school is as a preparation for the higher occupa- 
tions, and for professions not ranking among the learned, the 
equivalent of the gymnasium is clearly shown by the subjects 
and scope of its courses, and by the age of its pupils. Some of 
these occupations require no higher instruction, others that the 
pupils shall pass to the special schools introductory to them. So, 
also, many of the pupils of the gymnasia pass at once into 
active life, others enter the university. 

The class of schools to which the two last described be- 
long, are most important in their influence. In many coun- 
tries, an elementary education is the limit beyond which those 
intending to enter the lower grades of the occupations enume- 
rated in connexion with the City Trade School of Berlin, do 
not pass; and if they are inclined to have a better education, 



532 GENERAL EDUCATIOX. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

or if intending to embrace a iiigher occupation, they desire to be 
better instructed, tliey must seek instruction in the classical 
schools. The training of these schools is, however, essen- 
tially different from that required by the tradesman and me- 
chanic, the verbal character of the instruction is not calculated 
to produce the habits of mind in which he should be brought 
up, and the knowledge which is made the basis of mental train- 
ing is not that which he has chiefly occasion to use. Besides, 
were the course ever so well adapted to his object, the time at 
which he must leave school only permits him to follow a part 
of it, and he is exposed to the serious evils which must flow 
from being, as it were, but half taught. 

In fact, however, he requires a very different school, one in 
which the subjects of instruction are adapted to his destination, 
while they give him an adequate intellectual culture; where the 
character of the instruction will train him to the habits which 
must, in a very considerable degree, determine his future use- 
fulness; and where the course which he pursues will be tho- 
rough, as far as it goes, and will have reached before he leaves 
the school the standard at which it aims. Such establishments 
are furnished by the real schools of Germany, and as the wants 
which gave rise to them there are strongly felt every where, this 
class of institutions must spread extensively. In Germany they 
are, as has been seen, no new experiment, but have stood the 
test of experience, and with various modifications to adapt them 
to differences of circumstances or of views in education, they 
are spreading in that country. As they become more diffused, 
and have employed a greater number of minds in their orga- 
nization, their plans will, no doubt, be more fully developed. 

It is certainly highly creditable to Germany that its " gym- 
nasia," on the one hand, and its " real schools" on the other, offer 
such excellent models of secondary instruction in its two depart- 
ments. The toleration which allows these dissimilar establish- 
ments to grow u}) side by side, admitting that each, though 
good for its object, is not a substitute for the other, belongs to 
an enlightened state of sentiment in regard to educatioix, and is 
worlhv of the highest commendation. 



FITZTHUM GYMNASIUM. 533 

FITZTHUM GYMNASIUM AND BLOCHMAN SCHOOL AT 
DRESDEN. 

It is not my intention to go into a description of the second- 
ary instruction in Saxony, but merely to give a brief notice of 
one of its institutions wiiich ranks among the first in Germany, 
and which combines within itself a classical and a " real gym- 
nasium," and a preparatory school, or "progymnasium."* 

This institution partakes both of a public and private charac- 
ter, being, on the one hand, under the direction of the govern- 
ment authorities as a public school, and on the other, a private 
foundation of the Fitzthum family. It is also both a boarding 
and day school. 

Pupils are received into the progymnasium at nine or ten 
years of age, and with the attainments of the elementary 
period. In this school, which has two classes, they remain 
until from thirteen to fourteen. Its courses are the following : — 
Bible history and religion, the German language, the Latin, 
French, history, arithmetic, knowledge of forms, geography, 
natural history, drawing, and v^^riting. From the upper class 
of the progymnasium, the pupils pass to the gymnasium, in which 
there are four classes. The courses are of religion, Latin, 
Greek, German language and literature, French, mathematics, 
history, geography, natural philosophy, natural history, music, 
and drawing. From the fourth or lowest class of the gymna- 
sium, the pupil who is not intended to go to the university en- 
ters the " real gymnasium," or scientific school, in which there 
are two classes, and the duration of the studies of which is one 
year less than that of the classical gymnasium. In this the 
French and English, and the scientific studies, replace the clas- 
sics, except a portion of Latin, which is still kept up. The 



* Dr. Blochman, who established this institution, in 1827, was a collaborator 
with Pestalozzi in the palmy days of his cstablislimcnt at Yverdun, and is deeply 
imbued with his method. Though ill when I visited Dresden, he was most 
kind and cordial, and opened every part of his interestino- school to my examina- 
tion. 



534 GENERAL EDUCATION. SECONDARY PERIOD. 

courses consist of religion, German language and literature, 
Latin, French, English, mathematics, physics, chemistry, natu- 
ral history, mechanics, history, geography, drawing, and music. 
The distribution of the time of study in the principal branches 
agrees entirely with that of the two upper classes of the Royal 
Real School at Berlin, already described. 

The arrangements for the superintendence of the pupils in 
this institution are, in the main, like those of Pforta. Pupils 
called inspectors are selected, and superintend their fellows 
when in the play-ground and at study, and there are two mas- 
ters always on duty as superintendents. The physical educa- 
tion of the pupils is very well attended to, and the alternations 
of exercise and study have a very good effect. These alterna- 
tions will appear by the following order of the day : 

The boarders rise at six o'clock, and breakfast at a quarter to 
seven. From a quarter to seven to a quarter to eight, study under 
the superintendence of the two teachers on duty. Pupils living 
out of the house join in this study hour. Prayers. From eight to 
a quarter to ten, instruction. Quarter to ten to quarter after ten, 
play in the garden, and a light second breakfast. Quarter after 
ten to twelve, instruction. Twelve to one, instruction in instru- 
mental and vocal music, gymnastic exercises, dancing, or free 
to play in the grounds under the charge of the two superin- 
tendents. At one, the day scholars leave the institution. Quar- 
ter after one to two, dinner. Two to three, play under charge 
of the inspectors. Three to quarter of five, instruction. On 
Wednesday and Saturday, walks. Quarter to five to quarter 
after five, lunch and recreation. Quarter after five to eight, 
study under charge and aided by the inspectors. Eight, supper. 
At nine the younger pupils retire, the older ones study until ten. 

The mathematical instruction in this school is continued, even 
in the higher branches, upon the inductive plan, and is the most 
effective which I have ever seen. It consists of a mixture of ex- 
planation and question, and of oral and written exercises in the 
class-room. The recitations are upon the previous lessons, 
and upon questions given to be solved out of the class-room, 
and the written exercises arc solutions of questions and notes 



FITZTHUM GYMNASIUM. 635 

of the explanation of the previous lesson. The collections in 
natural history are superior to those possessed by any other 
gymnasium which I visited. Both this and the physical appa- 
ratus afford very considerable means of illustration in these de- 
partments. The chemical laboratory, in a building apart from 
the house, is very conveniently arranged, both for instruction 
and experiments by the pupils. 



,<^- 



536 GENERAL EDUCATION. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



SUPERIOR INSTRUCTION. 



In a regular system of education, primary and secondary 
lead to superior instruction, with which the student's career is 
terminated. The period of life usually embraced by it abroad, 
is from seventeen or eighteen to twenty or twenty-one. The 
schools which furnish it are of two classes, those qualifying for 
entrance into the learned professions, and those preparing for 
occupations requiring a considerable extent of special know- 
ledge for their successful prosecution. The universities consti- 
tute the first class of these special schools ; the second have 
various names, as schools of arts, manufactures and commerce, 
trade institutes, and polytechnic institutions; the last mentioned 
title may be conveniently used as referring to the entire class. 
The special schools of architecture, engineering, mining, &c., 
and the military and naval schools, also belong to this class. 
The universities not only serve as special schools for the learned 
professions, but are also intended to give the highest grade of 
intellectual culture, to form the scholar and man of letters, or 
of science. They had their origin in the wants of an early 
period of civilization, and have continued to be as necessary in 
its progress, requiring great changes, however, to enable them 
to keep pace with the times. Schools of arts, or polytechnic 
schools, have originated in the requirements of modern times, in 
which occupations have risen in standing and importance, or 
have been actually created, by the progress of science and the 
arts. Considered as special schools, the universities have very 
different objects from those which the founder of the Girard 
College intended as the aim of his institution, while the pur- 
poses of the polytechnic schools are strictly in accordance with 



IXTRODUCTORY REMARKS. * 537 

those which his will points out for the highest departmetit of 
his college. This being the case, a description of foreign uni- 
versities would, I conceive, be out of its place in this Report. 
From the character of my associations, before leaving home, 
which naturally led to similar associations while abroad, I felt 
highly interested in this class of institutions, and it is with re- 
luctance I have come to the conclusion not to give some descrip- 
tion of them in my Report. While it is exceedingly difficult 
to judge of the results of university systems of different countries, 
especially so from the amount of talent arrayed in fevour of, 
and even positively against, different systems, and I should make 
no pretensions to offer such a judgment, the institutions are by 
no means difficult to describe, so that a reader may conceive 
the form of the system, and endow that form with spirit, in pro- 
portion to the force of his own natural powers and his expe- 
rience. The differences between the university systems of Great 
Britain, France, and Germany, afford interesting subjects of 
reflection to those whose pursuits and dispositions lead them to 
eflbrts for the improvement of "superior education." Con- 
sidering these different systems as so many experiments made 
under different circumstances, the study of their results, and the 
modifying effect of circumstances, is no less interesting than 
useful. The field is, however, vast; the varieties in Great Bri- 
tain alone would require much space for due description, as 
a few words will suffice to show. The Scotch and English 
universities difler very much in their organization, discipline, 
and instruction, and even the several Scotch universities are not 
alike. At Glasgow, and the academical institution at Belfast, 
founded upon its model, the pupils enter, in general, in very early 
youth. The lectures are, therefore, mixed with recitations held 
by the professors, which, however, the large classes at Glas- 
gow prevent from being efficacious. The students do not reside 
in either of these institutions. At Edinburgh, the average age 
of the student is greater, and the medical department assumes, 
relatively to that of letters, an importance which modifies the 
character of the school. The lesser universities of St. Andrews 
68 



538 GENERAL EDUCATION. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

and Aberdeen differ more from the others in the arrange- 
ment of discipline, resulting from the residence of a part of the 
students in the colleges composing them, than in the charactei* 
of the instruction. In the larger English universities of Cam- 
bridge and Oxford, composed of colleges and halls, in the build- 
ings of which the students generally reside, the discipline of 
each college may be said to be its own, with a general con- 
formity to that of the university.* The same is true in regard 
to the instruction, with this difference, that as all the courses 
tend towards the preparation for university degrees and uni- 
versity honours, there is a general conformity in the several 
colleges in the subjects taught and methods of teaching. The 
instruction given by the tutors in the colleges is upon the same 
general plan, a mixture of lecture and recitation; and as the 
attendance upon the lectures of the university professors is not 
obligatory, forms the real basis of the intellectual part of the 
university education. The inducements held out to exertion in 
these schools by the rewards which the fellowships and the 
stations to which they may lead hold forth, and which bring 
into them the greater part of the best talent of England, pro- 
duce results which are of the highest order, but which cannot 
fairly be considered as depending mainly upon the system of 
instruction and discipline. It must require a very accurate 
knowledge of facts, with an entire absence of prejudice, to rea- 
son as to the general results of the various parts of the complex 
system, which has grown with the growth of these institutions 
themselves,. and is, therefore, now very deeply rooted. 

I consider the opportunity which I enjoyed of witnessing 
some of the written examinations at Cambridge as of the highest 
value, and am no longer surprised at the attachment to this 
method which is there felt. It is accurate and expeditious in its 
results, removes all possibility of, or temptation to, show, and even 
the suspicion of partiality, in the distribution of important places. 

* A very accurate account of the universities of Cambridge and Oxford is to 
be found in the report to the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, 
by Philip II. Nicklin, Esq., one of its members. 



IiVTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 539 

While I am not yet persuaded that it can supersede the viva 
voce method, or be employed to such an extent as to sink the 
use of the latter into comparative insignificance, yet, if the 
choice lay between the use of the one or other method exten- 
sively, I should now, prefer the former. 

At the university of Dublin (Trinity College), the advantages 
of the tutorial system are combined with that of the lectures by 
professors, which the students are enjoined to attend, and the 
same is the case at the recently erected university of Durham. 
This university has set the example of adding instruction in 
civil engineering to its literary courses, and has admitted the 
modern languages into the latter. King's College and London 
University College have hardly yet taken the form which time 
must impress upon them in their new connexion with the Lon- 
don University; the enactments of this recent corporation, in re- 
gard to the requirements for degrees, must ultimately regulate the 
higher studies of these and other institutions, presenting candi- 
dates for them. This bare enumeration will serve to show, that 
to give any thing like an idea of institutions so various in their 
character, would require much time and more space than could 
properly be bestowed in a report, to the purpose of which the 
greater part of the particulars would be found inappropriate. 
No doubt useful hints might be gathered, but by far the greater 
part of the matter would be entirely inapplicable to our purpose. 
For example, the system of university degrees, by which en- 
couragement is given to general effort, and of the privilege to 
teach, or of stations without actual duty, by which, in many 
establishments, individual exertion is stimulated and rewarded, 
are entirely inapplicable to the circumstances of our institution. 
Again; the tone and modes of discipline, both in those institu- 
tions where the pupils reside and in those where they merely 
come at stated times to receive instruction, are inapplicable to 
our case, and the general organization and government are not 
less so. Further, the instruction, as far as it is of a special cha- 
racter, qualifying for admission to the learned professions, as 
in the continental system, has, of course, no bearing upon our 
arrangements, and leaves for profitable study the subjects of at 



510 liEIVERAL EDUCATION'. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

most two faculties. In these the titles of the branches them- 
selves would be all that could serve us; for the mode of lecturing 
being universally adopted, the treatment of the subject depends 
upon the individual professor. 

In regard to the institutions of the class preparatory to higher 
trades, to the arts, manufactures, mining, engineering, com- 
merce, navigation, &.C., as they furnish examples of schools 
specially intended to prepare for the pursuits of life, towards 
which our founder has plainly signified his wish that the pupils 
of the Girard College should be directed, I shall devote the 
chief part of the remainder of my Report to describing such 
examples of them as are most highly approved, having best ful- 
filled the objects for which they were founded. I shall describe 
in turn, more or less minutely, the Polytechnic School of Paris, 
which, originally, as the Central School of Public Works, was 
the parent of this class of institutions ; the School of Arts and 
Manufactures of Paris, one of the most flourishing establish- 
ments, originating in private enterprize; the Institute of Arts at 
Berlin, and the Polytechnic Institution at Vienna, both supported 
by government, and the two most successful institutions of their 
class in Germany; and the Sciiool of Mines at Freyburgh, in 
Saxony, which, though specially devoted to one branch of prac- 
ti<'al life, belongs to the same class in its studies. I shall also 
briefly notice, in connexion with the Polytechnic School of 
France, the civil schools of application to which it leads, namely, 
those of mines, and of roads and bridges; in connexion with the 
Institute of Arts at Berlin, the Industrial Schools of Prussia gene- 
rally; and further, after the School of Arts and Manufactures of 
Paris, the private Industrial and Commercial Boarding Institute 
at Charonne. As our founder has intimated that the profession 
of a navigator is one of those towards which he wishes the 
pupils to be directed, I annex the programme of the studies of 
one of the best naval schools in Europe, that of Venice. The 
ofiicers of the Austrian navy, though they have limited oppor- 
tunities of practice, are distinguished as well instructed in the 
science of their profession, and in all its collateral branches. 

There are special schools, which, after some consideration, 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 541 

I have referred to other branches of this Report. Although 
they educate youth for particular callings, and correspond in 
general in regard to age with the superior period, yet, as they 
belong essentially in their grade of instruction to the primary 
or secondary classes, and have an important bearing upon the 
schools composing tiiem, I have thought it better to rank them 
accordingly. In this view the rural schools of Switzerland, 
which may be considered as special, in so far as they train their 
pupils as farmers, and the age of the pupils of which extends 
beyond the usual primary period; the Agricultural School at 
Templemoyle, in Ireland, the Rural School of Ealing, and the La 
Martiniere Industrial School of Lyons, have been placed under 
the head of primary instruction. The primary normal schools 
of Weissenfels, Berlin, Versailles, Dijon, Haarlem, and Zurich, 
have been ranked under the same general division, though they 
are special schools so far as they prepare for the profession of 
a teacher, and belong to the secondary and superior periods in 
the age of their pupils. The Normal School of Paris has, in 
like manner, been ranked with secondary schools, in reference 
to the grade of its instruction. I refer to them here, lest it 
might be inferred, from their not appearing in what at first 
may appear their natural place, that no account is given of 
them. The School of Agriculture and Forestry at Hohenheim, 
in Wurtemburg, is a true agricultural university, at least in its 
principal departments, and I have therefore retained it in this 
chapter. 

With these remarks I proceed to the description of the spe- 
cial schools above enumerated, merely adding, that if there is 
less of general inference and comparison found connected 
with these institutions than with others, it results from the 
fact that the schools are special in their nature, and when 
their objects are not entirely different, so as absolutely to pre- 
vent any comparison of their plans, they are usually sufficiently 
so to make comparison of little value. I have endeavoured to 
point out these objects, and especially in cases where charac-^ 
teristic modifications in the plans result from them. 



642 GENERAL EDUCATION. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 



POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL OF FRANCE. 

This celebrated institution was organized in 1794, during the 
existence of the republic of France, by a decree of the conven- 
tion, under the nanne of central school of public works; this 
title was subsequently changed, in 1795, to that of polytechnic 
school, which, with the prefixes of imperial in 1806, and of 
royal since 1814, the inslitution has since borne, and under 
which it has acquired its celebrity. Annong the first professors 
of the school were Lagrange, Monge, Hachette, Hassenfratz, 
and Guyton de Morveau. The way for the school was opened 
by a preparatory school, in which a certain number of pupils 
were trained to act as assistants, under the charge of the pro- 
fessors already appointed. The organization of the school with 
a large number of pupils was thus rendered possible, and was 
begun in May, 1795.* 

At first the school was chiefly intended to supply officers 
for certain branches of the military and civil services. The 
report, however, of M. Fourcroy to the convention, and the 
law organizing the school adopted in consequence of it, recog- 
nise the principle that the institution has a more general purpose, 
namely, the diffusion of mathematical, physical, and chemical 
science, and of the "graphic arts." This important principle 
is now adopted as its basis, and its pupils are not obliged to 
enter any branch of the government service. While the recog- 
nition of the principle is important, it happens, in point of fact, 
that few young men who enter the school do not take service, 
either military, naval, or civil. The branches of service among 
which the graduates have a right of choice to fill vacancies 
are, in the department of the minister of war, the artillery, the 

* Notwithstanding this piece of foresiglit, which was, however, carried no 
further than the preparation of pupils to take part in the instruction and disci- 
pline, tlie expenses incident to the sudden reception of numerous untrained stu- 
dents with the untried organization, amounted the first year to nearly three times 
the sum to which they were reduced after an experience of two years; the num- 
ber of pupils having been reduced in the mean time only in the proportion of 391 
to 296. The expenses include, however, those for individuals employed upon 
the collections of models, apparatus, and drawings. 



POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL OF FRANCE. 543 

engineers, the staff', the manufacture of saltpetre and powder, 
and, under certain circumstances, the infantry; in the navy de- 
partment, the naval artillery, naval engineers or the general 
naval service, and the hydrographical engineers; in the depart- 
ment of the interior, the corps of roads and bridges, and of 
mines; in that of finance, the administration of tobacco. The 
pupils have also a right of admission to the school of forestry, 
and to attend the courses of other public special schools. 

Government. From 1795 to 1830 this school was in the de- 
partment of the minister of the interior, and since that time has 
been under the charge of the war department. The minister 
of war has always had, however, a certain share of patronage 
and influence in the institution, owing to the military form 
of the interior organization; from 1804 to 1816 this was 
strictly military, the pupils having been enrolled, armed, and 
equipped. 

The details of interior organization have been so often varied, 
that if the reasons of the changes not resulting from political 
causes could be understood, they would prove no doubt most 
valuable as guides. While, however, the changes are chronicled 
with care, the motives for them do not appear, and the minute 
record of them is not followed by its highest appropriate result. 
The eighth organization of this institution took place in 1832, 
and was in general in full force when I visited it in 1837. The 
special regulations of the school are subordinate to, and in con- 
formity with, the decree of 1832. 

The immediate control of the institution is vested in a military 
commandant, a general officer, who must have been a pupil of 
the school. He is responsible for the execution of the rules and 
regulations relating to instruction, police, and administration, 
and reports directly to the minister of war. He is assisted in 
his duties by the second commandant, who has special charge 
of the police and discipline. The commandant is president, and 
the second in command a member of all boards or councils. 
The other members of the military staff are four captains, hav- 
ing the title of inspectors of studies and military exercises, and 
commanding the pupils when under arms; one captain, called 



544 GENERAL EDUCATIOX. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

instructor, who has the immediate direction of the mihtary ex- 
ercises, and the clothing, arms, and quarters; and four adjutants, 
who have charge of the details of the interna] police of the in- 
stitution and of the military exercises. The king appoints the 
two commandants on the nomination of the minister of war; 
the other officers are appointed by the minister directly. The 
arrangements for the superintendence of instruction, of the do- 
mestic economy, &c., will be noticed under their appropriate 
heads. 

Admission. The number of pupils admitted each year de- 
pends upon the probable vacancies in the several corps sup- 
plied by the school, and is stated at the time of the annual pub- 
lication of the conditions of admission. The average number 
admitted yearly, from 1796 to 1837, was about one hundred 
and thirty-four, and the number in 1836 was one hundred and. 
twenty-six. The total number in the two classes of the school 
has fluctuated considerably, but, since 1831, has averaged 
rather more than three hundred and one. Every native of 
France, between the ages of sixteen and seventeen, may be a 
candidate for admission, and special exceptions are made, until 
twenty-five years of age, in fiivour of those who belong to the 
military service. Each applicant registers his name at the pre- 
fecture of the department in which he resides, and is examined 
for admission in the district to which he belongs, or where he 
is under instruction. With this registry is deposited the certi- 
ficate of the date and circumstances of birth, a certificate of vac- 
cination or of having had the small-pox, and of general health, 
and an obligation on the part of the parent or guardian to pay 
the sum of one thousand francs (about two hundred dollars) 
yearly to the school, in case of admission. 

The subjects upon which a candidate is examined are — 1. 
Arithmetic, in all its branches. 2. Elementary geometry. 3. 
Algebra. 4. Plane trigonometry. 5. Statics treated syntheti- 
cally. 6. Elements of analytical geometry. 7. The use of the 
logarithmic tables. 8. Latin, as far as it is taught in the rhetoric 
class of the colleges, and French composition. 9. Drawing, 
with the crayon and with instruments. If the candidate pos- 



POLYTECHNIU SUHOOL OF FRANCE. 545 

sesses, in addition, a knowledge of physics, chemistry, Ger- 
man, and of India ink drawing, they are taken into the ac- 
count. From the great excess in the number of applications 
over the numbers of places, the competition is necessarily very 
severe, and it appears from the register of applications and 
admissions, that since 1796, fourteen thousand one hundred and 
sixty-four candidates have been examined, and only five thou- 
sand five hundred and two admitted. The proportion is even 
smaller in later years; in 1836, of six hundred and eighteen 
pupils examined, one hundred and twenty-six, or only about 
one-fifth, were admitted. All who apply do not come forward 
to these examinations: in 1836, seven hundred and forty-six 
names were inscribed, and but six hundred and eighteen candi- 
dates presented themselves, so that the number of original appli- 
cants, in 1836, was actually six times that of the places to be filled. 
There are four examiners appointed annually by the minister 
of war, on the nomination of the council of instruction of the 
school. These divide between them the different districts in 
which the examinations are to be held, and repair, at a stated 
time, between the first of August and tenth of October, to the 
place appointed. The performance of the candidates is re- 
gistered according to a scale of marks, as nearly uniform as 
the judgment of different individuals allows; these registers 
being compared, the candidates are admitted in the order 
of merit, thus determined, as far as the number of vacancies 
permits, the admission being made by the decision of a board, 
the composition of which will be presently stated. Thus this 
truly national institution is thrown open to all of suitable age, 
and their admission depends solely upon their talents and ac- 
quirements. The successful candidates are informed of the 
result of their examination, and join the school early in No- 
vember. They are received by a board (jury) of examiners, 
who subject them to a second examination, intended to verify 
the first, and to the inspection of a surgeon. This board con- 
sists of the two commandants, the director of studies, the two 
permanent examiners attached to the school, and the four ex- 
aminers for admission. 
69 



546 GENERAL EDUCATIOIT. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

While pupils are admissible to this school as early as sixteen 
years of age, they are usually older on entering; of one hun- 
dred and twenty-six pupils admitted in 1836, seventy-four were 
twenty years, and thirty-six nineteen years of age. There are 
twenty-four gratuitous places for pupils whose families are in 
needy circumstances; of these, twelve are at the disposal of the 
minister of war, eight of the minister of commerce, and four of 
the minister of marine. These bursaries may be halved. No 
pupil who is lower than two-thirds from the head of the list, in 
the order of merit at admission, is eligible to a bursary or half 
bursary. 

Besides the students thus regularly entering the school, a 
certain number of youths are permitted to attend the lectures 
(auditeurs libres). The majority of these are foreigners. There 
were thirty-three such "auditeurs" in 1835-6, and forty-five in 
1836-7. Among these were Englishmen, Belgians, Germans, 
Poles, Italians, Greeks, Wallachians, Turks, Egyptians, Mexi- 
cans, and Brazilians. Not one citizen of the United States 
was enjoying this privilege. 

Instruction. The highest executive authority in matters of in- 
struction, is the director of studies.* This office was created 
in 1804, previous to which time the council of instruction had 
discharged its duties. The director of studies oversees the 
details of instruction, being immediately responsible to the com- 
mandant of the school. He is appointed by the king, on the 
joint nomination of the council of instruction of the school 
and of the Academy of Sciences, and is a member of all 
boards convened in relation to its affairs. A council, termed 
the council of instruction (conseil d'instruction), and composed 
of the two commandants, the director of studies, the professors 
of the school, one master, appointed annually by the teachers 
from among their number, and the librarian, who acts as se- 
cretary, meets once a month for the discussion of business re- 
lating to instruction. When changes are required in the courses 

* To the director of studies, the eminent philosopher M. Dulong, whose loss 
has since been so deeply deplored by tlie scientific world, I am indebted for an 
opportunity of visiting the school, and of being present at its examinations. 



POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL OF FRANCE. 547 

or in the examinations, they are discussed in this council and 
referred to a second, which may be considered as the chief 
legislative body, in regard to the subjects composing the in- 
struction. 

This council, termed the council of improvement (conseil 
de perfectionnement), consists of the two commandants, the 
director of studies, the five examiners in the school, one ex- 
aminer for admission, three members of the Academy of 
Sciences, three professors in the school, and a member from 
each of the branches of the public service into which the gra- 
duates enter. 

The officers directly concerned in instruction are, the pro- 
fessors and the repeaters (repetiteurs). The professors and 
masters are appointed by the minister of w^ar on the joint no- 
mination of the council of instruction and of the particular Aca- 
demy of the Institute in which the subject of instruction is 
classed. The professors communicate instruction by lecture 
and by general interrogations of the pupils. The repeaters 
conduct the special interrogations, and give aid to the pupils 
while engaged in study. The title of "repeater" is, no doubt, 
derived from the original duty of these teachers having been to 
go over the lessons of the professors. The repeaters do the 
more laborious work of instruction, and since their substitution 
for the pupil teachers, who were employed in the earlier period 
of the existence of the school, have been considered most im- 
portant officers. There were attached to the institution, in 1837, 
ten professors, five masters, and tw^elve repeaters. Some of 
the most distinguished professors have risen from the rank of 
repeaters. 

There are two divisions of the pupils for instruction, corres- 
ponding to the two years' duration of the courses. No pupil 
is allowed to remain in one of these divisions more than two 
years, nor in the school more than three. To proceed from 
the first division to the second, or to graduate, an examination 
must be passed upon the studies of the year then just elapsed. 
Until 1798, these examinations were conducted by the profes- 
sors, but now there are examiners, who are not connected with 



548 GENERAL EDUCATION. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

the school. Two of these are permanent, and appointed by the 
minister of war on the joint nomination of the Council of In- 
struction and of the Academy of Sciences, and three are ap- 
pointed annually on the recommendation of the council. The 
examinations on mathematics and analytical mechanics, and 
of members of the graduating class, which I attended, were 
decidedly superior to any which I saw abroad, except in a 
single instance. The courses of the first year are — analysis, 
geometry, mechanics, descriptive geometry, application of ana- 
lysis to geometry, physics, chemistry, French composition, 
topographical drawing, drawing of the human figure, land- 
scape drawing, and India ink drawing. Those of the second 
year are — a continuation of the analysis, geometry, mechanics, 
physics, chemistry, and drawing of the first year, besides ma- 
chines, geodesy and social arithmetic, architecture, and the 
German language. Up to 1814, there were courses of civil 
engineering, fortification, and the science and art of war, but 
these were then transferred to the special school of application 
to which they appropriately belong. The difierent branches 
are not all taught at the same time, and, therefore, do not all 
extend throughout the whole of the year. Instruction is given 
in physics and chemistry, in both classes, from early in No- 
vember to the middle or end of June, or the beginning of July, 
and in topographical drawing, from November to the begin- 
ning of June. In the first year's courses of architecture and 
French, and in the second year's course of German, from the 
same date to the close of June or the first week in July. The 
courses of analysis and geometry, and of statics and dynamics, 
in the first year, follow each other in succession, as also 
those of descriptive geometry and the application of analysis. 
The same is the case in the second year with the courses of 
analysis and geometry, of mechanics and machines, and of 
geodesy and social arithmetic. The lectures are followed by 
revisions and general interrogations, to which the closing por- 
tion of the period of the course is devoted. The number of lec- 
tures in each course is stated in the following table : 



POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL OF FRANCE. 



549 



Table of the number of lessons in the different departments of study in the Po- 
lytechnic School. 



SUBJECTS OF STUDY. 



Analysis and Geometry, ------ 

Mechanics, .-.--..--- 

Machines, .-_.- 

Descriptive Geometry, 

Analytical Geometry, 

Geodesy, ... 

Social Arithmetic, - - 

Physics, ------..... 

Chemistry, 

Architecture, 

French Composition, - 

German Language, -- - 

Topographical Drawing, --.-.- 
Drawing of Human Figures & Landscapes, 
India Ink Drawing, ....... 



•-3 ^ 


.2 "^ 

■Mo 


52* 


44* 


33* 


41* 




22t 


68 




14 






29t 




6t 


32 


30 


36 


36 




34 


31 






32 


33 


30 


45 


45 


22 


20 



• The lessons of analysis and of mechanics include lectures, revisions, and 
general interrogations of the whole class. These courses belonging to the same 
department, the lectures on analysis and interrogations upon them occupy one 
part of the year, and the statics and dynamics the other. The courses of lectures 
are followed by a general review, consisting of interrogations by the professor 
and repeaters. 

t The courses of machines, geodesy, and social arithmetic, in the second year, 
belong to the same department, and the remark just made in relation to the courses 
of analysis and mechanics applies also to them. 



550 GENERAL EDUCATIOX. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

There are two professors of mechanics and four repeaters 
for the course of analysis and mechanics, and two professors 
and two repeaters for that of chemistry. The courses of geo- 
desy and topography, machines, and social arithmetic, are un- 
der the same professor, who has a repeater as an assistant. 
There are four masters for the drawing department, comprising 
that of the human figure, of landscapes, and in India ink. Each 
of the other subjects have a professor or master in charge of 
them, and each, except the master of topographical drawing, 
has a repeater. 

1 fear that even a sketch of the ample programme of this 
school may be considered as leading into too much detail, but 
will endeavour, as briefly as possible, to give some idea of the 
nature of the courses, since I cannot omit what are justly con- 
sidered as models in their several ways. 

Analysis. 

First Year. Differential and integral calculus, to include the rectification and 
quadrature of plane curves, and of curved surfaces, and the cubature of solids. 

Second Year. Differential and integral calculus continued. Elements of the 
calculus of variations and of finite differences. Formulae of interpolation, &c. 

Mechanics. 

First Year. Statics. — Composition, and equilibrium of forces. Theory of pa- 
rallel forces. Of the centre of gravity. Attraction of a point by a homogeneous 
sphere. Dynamics. — General formulae of motion. The pendulum. Projectiles. 
Problems in physical astronomy. 

Second Year. Statics continued. Forces applied to an invariable system. 
Principle of virtual velocities. Application to simple mechanics. Dynamics. 
D'Alembert's principle. Collision. Moment of inertia, &c. Hydrostatics. 
Hydrodynamics. 

Every lecture of analysis or mechanics is preceded or followed by interroga- 
tions by the professor. Problems are given out for solution. The repeaters 
interrogate the pupils three times per week. After the completion of the course, 
general interrogations take place, upon the whole subject, by the professors and 
repeaters. 

DEScraPTivE Geometry. 

Problems relating to the right line and plane (twelve problems). Tangent 
planes and normals to curved surfaces (four problems). Intersections of surfaces 
(seven problems). Miscellaneous problems (seven). 

Applications of Descriptive Geometry. Problems with a single plane of pro- 



POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL OF FRANCE. 551 

jection, and a scale of declivity. Linear perspective (three problems). Shadows 
(three problems). Stone cutting (seven problems). Carpentry (four problems). 
India ink drawing. Elements in four examples. 

Analytical Geometry. 

The right line and plane. Curved surfaces. 

The professor may precede or follow his lectures by interrogations. During 
the course the class is examined by the repeaters, and at the close of the studies 
of Analytical Geometry there is a general review. 

Machines, Astronomy, Geodesy, and Social Arithmetic. 

Elements of machines. Machines for transporting burthens and for pressure. 
For raising liquids. Moved by air, by water, by steam. Useful effect of ma- 
chines. 

Astronomy and Geodesy. Formulse of spherical trigonometry. Measurement 
of space and time. Of the celestial bodies. Of the earth. Elements of physical 
geography and hydrography. Geodesy. Instruments. Figure of the earth. 
Projection of maps and charts. 

Elements of the calculation of probabilities. Tables. Insurances. Life in- 
surance, &c. 

Interrogations by the professor accompany the lessons. Those by the repeater 
must be at least as frequent as those by the professor. At the close of the princi- 
pal courses there is a general review, in the way of interrogation, by the professor 
and repeater. 

Physics. 

First Year. 1. General properties of bodies. Falling bodies. Principle of 
equilibrium of fluids. Specific gravities. 2. Heat. Radiation, conduction, &c. 
Vapours, Latent heat. 3. General constitution of the atmosphere. Hygrome- 
try. 4. Molecular attraction. Capillary action. 5. Electricity. Laws of attrac- 
tion, repulsion, distribution, &.c. Atmospheric electricity. Modes of developing 
electricity. 

Second Year. 6. Magnetism. Phenomena and laws of magnetism. Instru- 
ments. Reciprocal action of magnets and electrical currents. Electro-dynamics. 
Mutual actions of electrical currents. Thermo-electric phenomena. 7. Acous- 
tics. Of the production, propagation, velocity, &c., of sound. Acoustic instru- 
ments. 8. Optics. Mathematical and physical optics. Optical instruments. 

During the whole course the repeaters interrogate each division twice every 
week; they go through the study-rooms, and give any explanations which may 
be required by the pupils. 

Chemistry. 

First Year. General principles. Division of the course. Examination of the 
principal simple substances. Mixtures and binary compounds. Laws of definite 
proportions, &c. Hydracids. Oxacids and oxides. Bases. Neutral binary 
compounds. Salts. Principal metals. 

Second Year. Reciprocal action of acids and oxides. Action of water upon 
salts. Laws of Bcrthollet discussed. General properties of the carbonates, and 
special study of some of the more important. Borates and silicates. Glass and 



552 GENERAL EDUCATION. SUPERIOR PERIOD, 

pottery. Nitrates. Gunpowder. Pliosphates, &c. Sulphates. Chlorates. 
Chromates and other classes of salts, with details as to the more important. Ex- 
traction of the metals from their ores, methods of refining, &c. Organic che- 
mistry. Vegetable substances. Animal substances. 

This course is accompanied by manipulations in the laboratory of the institu- 
tion, in which the most useful preparations of the course are made by the pupils 
themselves. They are also taught the principles of analysis, both mineral and 
organic, practically. 

Architecture. 

Component parts of edifices. General principles. Materials. Foundations. 
Strength. Forms and proportions of the parts of buildings. Floors. Roofs, 
arches, &c. General principles of the compositions of parts of edifices. Illustra- 
tions of the different varieties of parts, as porticos, porches, vestibules, halls, &c. 
Composition of an edifice. Varieties of buildings— as colleges, hospitals, prisons, 
barracks, &c. 

The pupils copy from the board the sketches of the professor, and draw them 
carefully when required. At the close of the lectures there arc four different sub- 
jects assigned, upon each of which there is a competition. The pupils are classi- 
fied according to the result of these competitions, and of the marks for their gra- 
phic exercises during the course. The best designs are exhibited. Three India 
ink drawings are made on architectural subjects during this course. 

French Composition. 

The course consists principally in the writing of essays and compositions by 
the pupils, which are subsequently criticised during the recitations. 

German Language. 

Elements of the language. Grammar reading. Themes and versions. Every 
lecture is followed by an examination of an hour and a-half in duration, by the 
professor or repeater. There are, besides, exercises of pronunciation and common 
conversation. 

TorOGRAPIIY. 

Exercises in topographical drawing. Different modes of representing the 
ground by horizontal curves, the projections of lines of greatest declivity, and by 
sliading. Conventional signs. Lettering. The exercises of the second division 
are preceded by lessons from the professor of geodesy, explanatory of the tlieory. 

Drawing of the Human Figure and Landscape Drawing. 

In the first branch tiie pupils are divided into two classes, one of which copies 
engravings, and the other draws from models. On entering the school the pupils 
are classified according to the drawings which they made at the examination for 
admission. They are then divided into two sections, of as nearly equal strength 
as possible, and assigned, each one, to a master, with whom they remain during 
their course. One of the drawing-masters is specially charged with the course of 
drawing from casts aiTd from nature. At the beginning of the second year, the 
highest tliird of the pupils of each section of the former first division go to the 



POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL OF FRANCE. 553 

teacher of drawing in water colours, and remain for two months. They return 
to their sections, and are replaced by the next division, each pupil occupying a 
third of the second year in this kind of drawing. Tlie merits of the drawings 
are judged every two months. After the first of May the ordinary drawing les- 
sons are replaced by those in water colours. 

Besides these regular studies, there aie from twelve to fifteen lectures on ana- 
tomy and physiology, given towards the close of the second year, during hours 
not devoted to the regular branches, and which it is optional with the pupils to 
attend or not. Fencing, music, and dancing lessons, are also given. 

During the interrogations by the professors and repeaters, 
notes are taken of the merit of the answers of the pupils, accord- 
ing to a uniform scale of marks. These are communicated 
with the subjects of each lecture or recitation to the director of 
studies, and placed upon record, as assisting in determining the 
merit of the pupils. The examiners mark according to the 
same scale. The pupils are classified after the examinations in 
the several departments, and in taking the average for the stand- 
ing in general merit, a different weight is allowed to the different 
courses. Mathematics counts most, and then the graphic exer- 
cises, descriptive geometry and geodesy united, and the con- 
duct of the pupils, count the same — then physics and chemistry. 
The graphic exercises of the course occupy a very considerable 
part of the time of the pupils; indeed, by some intelligent indi- 
viduals, friends of the school and of its general arrangements, 
this portion of the course is thought to have received too great 
an extension. 

The examinations at the end of each of the two years of study 
are divided into four; the first, on the courses of the first year, 
including analysis, part of analytical geometry, and mechanics; 
the second, on chemistry; the third, on physics; the fourth, on 
descriptive geometry and its applications, and part of analytical 
geometry. The examination at the close of the second year is 
divided as follows: — First, analysis, analytical geometry, me- 
chanics, effects of machines and social arithmetic. Second, 
chemistry. Third, physics. Fourth, geodesy, description of 
machines, and architecture. The examinations on analysis 
and its applications, and mechanics, are conducted by the two 
permanent examiners. The pupils are examined singly and 
70 



554 GENERAL EDUCATION. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

without the presence of their comrades, and each examiner 
occupies a separate room. Where the branches admit of it, 
the examinations are viva voce, the student using the black- 
board when required. 

After the examinations are completed, the results are report- 
ed to a Board, who, with all the materials before them from the 
examiners and from the school, decide whether the pupils may- 
pass to the higher division, or are admissible into the public 
service, according to the division to which they belong. This 
board ("jury") consists of the two commandants, the director of 
studies, the two permanent and three temporary examiners. 

Few of the pupils do not pass these examinations, severe as 
they are, which is attributable to the closeness of the examina- 
tions for admission. In 1836, of one hundred and thirty-one 
pupils examined in each of the divisions, only eight in the higher 
and five in the lower were required to go over their courses. 
This is a great gain to the institution in every respect, on the 
score of moral and intellectual progress, as well as of discipline 
and economy. 

The arrangem.ent of the time allotted to study, like the simi- 
lar points in regard to instruction, is a matter of very minute 
regulation. The pupils study in large rooms, conveniently fitted 
up for the purpose, and where they receive by lot, at entrance, 
places which they retain, in general, during the course. The 
interrogations or recitations take place in rooms adapted to that 
purpose, separate from the larger lecture halls. These recitation- 
rooms are also open to the pupils in winter, during recreation 
hours, and after supper; and in summer, whenever the weather is 
bad, so as to prevent them from spending the time in the open air, 
besides at certain stated periods before the examinations. The 
superintendence of studies, so far as entrusted to the pupils, will 
be described under the head of discipline. The repeaters are 
present during the periods devoted to the studies of their seve- 
ral departments, and, except in the cases of the graphic exer- 
cises, where it is not allowed, are expected to give assistance 
to the pupils who ask for it. 

The order of the day in the institution is arranged with a 



POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL OF FRANCE. 555 

view to bring the lectures, recitations, and studies of particular 
branches, together. Besides this, there are study-hours, called 
free, in which the student may employ himself as he pleases, 
otherwise than in drawing of any kind (graphic exercises). 
The following table, which contains the order of the day for 
the lower class during the first half of the year, with the subse- 
quent remarks giving the variation from it in the second pe- 
riod, will show sufficiently the principle of arrangement. The 
dotted lines in the vertical columns signify that the duties are 
not necessarily according to the order of time as laid down in 
the table, but that one may take the place of the other. 



556 



GENERAL EDUCATION. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 




POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL OP FRANCE. 557 

The alterations in this programme, between the first of May 
and the end of the scholastic year, are very trifling. The 
courses of analysis have been completed, as well as that of 
analytical geometry, and hence are no longer to be found in the 
list of duties. The study-hours, from five to seven on Tuesday 
and Friday, are transferred to from seven to nine, and the two 
hours, from five to seven, are occupied in water-colour draw- 
ings. 

There is probably no school richer than this in the means of 
illustrating the various courses which are taught in it. It has 
extensive collections of physical and chemical apparatus, of 
models of machines, of mathematical instruments, of drawings 
and models in descriptive geometry and its appUcations, and 
in topography, and of drawings, engravings, and casts for the 
courses of drawing. The cabinets of apparatus and models 
are under the charge of three curators (conservateurs), who 
are expected not only to keep in order the existing collections, 
but to add to them, under the direction of the professors. 

While such ample provisions are made for the intellectual 
education of the pupils, and their physical education is attended 
to in at least a reasonable degree, I am not aware that any pro- 
vision is made for moral or religious instruction within the 
walls of the institution, or for regular attendance upon such du- 
ties without the walls. 

Discipline. The discipline of the school is thoroughly military, 
and the means of carrying it out in all its strictness are provided. 
The regulations are very minute, and fix, in detail, the pun- 
ishment considered equivalent to each offence, as well for 
those against morals as transgressions of the regulations them- 
selves. The punishments are — 1. Private admonition by the 
commandant or vice-commandant. 2. Public reprimand before 
the corps of pupils. 3. Confinement to the walls of the institu- 
tion, or stoppage of leave. 4. Confinement to the house. 5. 
Imprisonment within the walls. 6. Military imprisonment. 7. 
Dismission. The usual punishment for trivial offences is the 
stoppage ("sortie"), one of which is equivalent to a deprivation 
of the general leave of absence for half a-day. This may be 



558 GENERAL EDUCATION. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

awarded by an officer as low as an adjutant. It follows cer- 
tain specified offences, as overstaying a leave, when the num- 
ber of stoppages is in proportion to the time of overstaying the 
leave, and is even assigned for a failure in recitation. Im- 
prisonment within the walls can only be awarded by the com- 
mandant, vice-commandant, or director of studies, and excludes 
the student from the recitation-room. Confinement in the mi- 
litary prison requires the order of the commandant, who reports 
the case at once to the minister of war. Dismission cannot 
take place without the sanction of the minister. Cases of dis- 
cipline, supposed to involve dismission or the loss of a bursary, 
are referred to a board called the council of discipline, and 
composed of the two commandants, the director of studies, 
two professors, two captain inspectors, the captain instructor, 
and one administrator. 

For military exercises, and the general furtherance of dis- 
cipline, the pupils form a battalion, divided into four companies, 
each division of the school forming two companies. From 
each company eight petty officers, called sergeants, are taken, 
according to the order of the merit-roll of the division, making 
thirty-two in the whole battalion. These sergeants are distin- 
guished by appropriate miUtary badges. The sergeants have 
charge of the other pupils in the study-rooms, halls, recitation- 
rooms, refectory, laboratories, and lecture-rooms, and two of 
them in turn are joined with a higher officer, an adjutant, in the 
inspection of the food. They have charge in general of the de- 
tails of police. The second sergeants are entrusted with the col- 
lection of the money due by their comrades for letters and other 
authorized expenses. These officers are appointed once a-year. 

On Wednesday, from half past two in the afternoon to half 
past eight, in the summer, and to nine in the winter, and on 
Sunday, from after inspection to ten at night, the pupils are 
allowed to be absent from the institution. They are required 
to wear their uniform when abroad. On their return they sign 
their name to a list kept by the porter, who marks and reports 
the time of their return. A certain number of stoppages is as- 
signed for a breach of punctuality, according to its extent. 



POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL OF FRANCE. 559 

On certain afternoons the parents and relations of pupils are 
permitted to see them in the parlour, from three to a quarter to 
four. The pupils do not perform any duties of police; their 
arms are cleaned and kept by an armourer, and barrack-keep- 
ers are appointed for the police of the quarters — provisions which 
I look upon as defects. 

Graduation. As already stated, the board of examination 
decide formally upon the claims of the pupils of the second year 
to be graduated, and arrange the rolls in the order of merit. 
The pupils then, in turn, choose the department of the public 
service which they wush to enter, and in case there is no va- 
cancy in this department, are still entitled to priority of choice 
in other branches over those below them. The school has 
supplied, between the years 1795 and 183G, four thousand and 
thirty-six members to the public service, or an average of more 
than ninety-six annually. Of these, the following numbers have 
entered the different branches of the military service, namely: 
the artillery, sixteen hundred and ninety-six; engineers, nine 
hundred and seventeen; staff, twenty-five; geographical engi- 
neers, one hundred and eight; the manufacture of saltpetre and 
powder, nineteen: the infantry, or line of the army, one hundred 
and nineteen ; total, two thousand seven hundred and seventy- 
six. Besides these, there have entered the naval service: in the 
artillery, fifty-five; engineers, one hundred and eighteen; hydro- 
graphical engineers, thirteen; navy proper, one hundred and 
five; total, two hundred and ninety-one. Also the civil service: 
in the corps of mines, one hundred and thirty-six; roads and 
bridges, seven hundred and eighteen; tobacco, seven; total, eight 
hundred and sixty-one. 

There are at least one hundred of the graduates of the school 
in the higher branches of public instruction, but as they have 
left the services just enumerated for these stations, they are 
included in the hst just given. In 1836, of one hundred and 
twenty-one graduates, nine only did not enter the public service. 
As an additional means of making the school useful to the 
country, it has been proposed that a corps of architects should 
be formed, to be supplied from the school, and further to exempt 



560 GENERAL EDUCATION. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

those graduates who wish to enter the career of scientific in- 
struction from the examination for the baccalaureate of sciences. 

On entering these several services, the graduates pass to the 
schools of application, or special schools, intended to give th& 
technical preparation necessary; a notice of those which prepare 
for civil pursuits will be found at the close of this article. 

Madame Laplace has recently founded a prize, to be given 
to the first on the list of graduates from the school every year, 
and designed to testify the great interest which her deceased 
husband took in its welfare. Laplace was one of the first ex- 
aminers of the candidates for graduation, in 1796. 

Domestic Economy. The administration of the fiscal affairs 
of the school is committed to a board consisting of the com- 
mandant and vice-commandant, the director of studies, two 
professors, designated by the council of instruction, two inspec- 
tors of studies in turn, according to rank, the administrator or 
steward as reporter (rapporteur), the treasurer as secretary. 
The last two named agents are consulting members only. This 
board meets twice every month. It prepares the estimates for 
the expenses of the school, which are submitted to the minister 
of war. The form of these and, indeed, of all the accounts, 
is laid down minutely in regulations. 

The payment made by parents for the maintenance of the 
pupils does not go into the treasury of the institution, but into 
the general central treasury of the country. The school fur- 
nishes the pupil, for a stipulated sum, with his board, lodging, 
clothing, and petty expenses. For repairs of clothing and petty 
expenses, a special sum is set aside, of which the student re- 
ceives an account. Parts of the supply of clothing, &c., at en- 
trance, may be furnished by the parents, but the rest is supplied 
by the school at the parents' expense. 

The steward (administrateur) is the executive ofiicer of the 
domestic economy of the school — prepares all matters of busi- 
ness for the consideration of the council of administration, and 
the estimates of every kind, regular and contingent; presents 
the plans and estimates of the architect of the school for repairs 
or new buildings, and superintends their execution when 



SCHOOL OF ROADS AXD BRIDGES OF FRANCE. 561 

authorized; makes contracts and receives the articles contract- 
ed for; has charge of the issue of all articles, of the storehouses, 
and of the servants ; superintends the infirmary : he nominates 
the subordinate persons employed in his department, and is re- 
sponsible directly to the council, in virtue of the authority of 
which he is supposed to act. 

Under this officer are the treasurer of the school, who also 
acts as secretary to the council of administration, and the store- 
keeper. The librarian and curators are responsible also for 
the several collections under their charge. A physician, at- 
tached to the school, makes a regular daily visit, and is called 
in whenever required. He has two health officers under him, 
for the service of the infirmary, and the sisters of charity act 
as nurses. 

Schools of Practice into which the Graduates of the 
Polytechnic School pass. 

It will be recollected that the services into which the gradu- 
ates are received are the military, naval, and civil. There are 
special schools of practice for the land artillery and engineers, 
and for the staft^ or topographical engineers. The oflicers who 
have charge of the manufacture of powder are sent to the dif- 
ferent government establishments for practice. Tiie graduates 
intended for the naval artillery go to the school of practice for 
the land artillery at Metz; those for the naval engineers, to a 
special school at L'Orient. The hydrographical engineers enter 
at once upon the actual discharge of their duties in subordinate 
situations. The courses in these schools, or the apprenticeship 
to the duties of the service, vary from two to three years, ac- 
cording to the branch. The civil services have the schools of 
practice for the corps of roads and bridges, and of mines, and 
for the manufacture of tobacco. 

SCHOOL OF ROADS AND BRIDGES. 

The corps of civil engineers, entitled Corps of Roads and 
Bridges (corps de ponts et chaussees), have in charge all the 
71 



562 GENERAL EDUCATION". SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

works of this class, for the construction and repair of which 
the government is responsible. Their special school at Paris 
was founded as early as 1747, and embraced some of the ac- 
quisitions now made at the polytechnic school. Its organiza- 
tion, however, appears to have been exceedingly imperfect, the 
pupils being admitted without examination, and receiving part 
of their instruction out of the school. At present, the regular 
pupils are admitted from the polytechnic school, and go through 
a course of three years. The branches taught consist of ap- 
plied mechanics, civil architecture, constructions, mineralogy, 
geology, administrative jurisprudence, drawing, and the English, 
German, and Italian languages. There are examinations at the 
close of each year. The lectures occupy the period from the 
20th of November to the 1st of May. During the intervening 
time, from May to November, the students of the second and 
third years are sent into the field for practice, under the de- 
partmental engineers. The pupils receive pay, as aspirants 
(aspirans), from the government while at the school, and may 
rise to the rank of engineer of the second class in three years 
from the period of leaving it. 

SCHOOL OF MINES. 

The corps of mines is charged with the execution of all laws 
relating to mines, miners, quarries, and furnaces, and with the 
promotion, by advice or personal exertion, of the branches of 
the arts connected with mining. Tltey superintend the work- 
ing of mines, and are responsible for the safety of the workmen^ 
the due preservation of the soil, and the economy of the work. 
They also have the special superintendence of the execution of 
the laws relating to the safety of the steam-engine. They have 
two schools of practice, one at Paris, called the school of 
mines, the other at St. Etienne, called the school of miners. The 
duties of instruction in both these schools are confided to mem- 
bers of the corps. That at Paris is considered to rank among 
the first of the special schools of France. 

The regular pupils of the school of mines are divided into 



SCHOOL OF ARTS AND MANUFACTURES OF PARIS. 563 

two classes, according to the pay received from the govern- 
ment. The pupils from the polytechnic school enter the se- 
cond of these classes. They remain at the school not less than 
two nor more than four years. During the winter there are 
courses of mineralogy, geology, the working, refining, and 
assaying of metfils, the working of mines, drawing, and the 
English and German languages. At the close of these courses 
the pupils are examined. 

The students of the first year are employed during the sum- 
mer in chemical manipulation in the laboratories of the school, 
which are admirably provided for this purpose, in making geo- 
logical excursions in the neighbourhood of Paris, and in the use 
of surveying instruments. During the similar periods of the fol- 
lowing years, the students are sent into the departments, and 
sometimes abroad, to make particular examinations in relation 
to their profession, and on their return are expected to present 
a memoir descriptive of their investigations. 

The students of the first, or highest class, are present at the sit- 
tings of the general council of mines, to familiarise them with the 
business of the corps. After their final examination they are class- 
ed in the order of merit, and receive their first promotion accord- 
ingly. The scientific collections of this school are of the highest 
interest. Those made by the members of the corps of mines, 
and specially applicable to their service, could not be replaced. 

CENTRAL SCHOOL OF ARTS AND MANUFACTURES OF PARIS.' 

This school was founded in 1829, for the purpose of provid- 
ing suitable instruction for young men intending to become civil 
engineers, superintendents of manufactories and work-shops, 
architects, machinists, &c. It is intended to afford instruction 
of a character similar to that of the polytechnic school, but 
applicable to the arts in general. The school has, since its 



* M. Lavallee, director, to whose kindness I am indebted for an opportunity 
to examine the school. MM. Dumas, Peclet, Payen, and Milne Edwards, are 
among the professors of this institution. 



564 GENERAL EDUCATION. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

establishment, been recognised by the government, who have 
supplied funds for the admission of pupils from difierent parts 
of France; in 1836-7, twenty-eight pupils were thus admitted, 
whose expenses were defrayed entirely, or in part, from a spe- 
cific appropriation by the chamber. The society for the en- 
couragement of national industry, in France, has also given 
their sanction to the school, by establishing six half bursaries, 
to be filled every three years. 

Government of the school. This is vested in a general director 
and council of studies, who delegate a portion of their authority 
to a director of studies. The director has the general administra- 
tion of the establishment, residing in it; conducts the correspon- 
dence, and appoints the officers, the higher ones being nominated 
by the council. The council of studies is composed of the di- 
rector of studies and of a certain number of professors. They 
regulate every thing relating to the courses of instruction, to 
admissions, to examinations, and certificates on leaving the 
institution. They elect their president and secretary, and hold 
monthly meetings. During the recess of this council they are 
replaced by a council of order, consisting of the director of 
studies and at least one professor, who meet weekly. 

The officers of the school, besides the general director and 
the director of studies, are the professors and masters, repeat- 
ers (rcpetiteurs), and preparers (preparateurs). The repeaters 
hear the recitation upon the subjects on which the professors 
have lectured; the preparers get ready the experimental part 
of the lectures on chemistry and physics. There are thirteen 
professors, two masters, and six repeaters, besides the two di- 
rectors and other officers. 

General arrangements. The school is for day-scholars only, 
but when requested, the director recommends a place of resi- 
dence for the pupil, and there is, in fact, a boarding-house in 
the neighbourhood especially established for the reception of 
pupils of the school and of candidates for admission. The in- 
stitution is open every day, except Sunday and Thursday, from 
eight until four o'clock; on Thursday, from eight until one. 



SCHOOL OF ARTS AND MANUFACTURES OP PARIS. 565 

Parents who reside out of Paris are required to designate a 
friend residing tliere as guardian to tiieir son at his entrance 
into the school. Implicit obedience to the regulations and to the 
orders which they may receive is required of the pupils, who, 
if they consider themselves aggrieved, have recourse to the 
council of studies. 

Admission. Pupils may be admitted at sixteen years of age, 
if they have the necessary attainments, but as a general rule, 
it is found that youths at this early period have not sufficient 
maturity of intellect to follow the courses of the school to the 
best advantage. The examinations for admission are both viva 
voce and in writing. Those at Paris are made by a special ex- 
aminer, designated by the council of studies: in other parts of 
France they may be made by a professor of mathematics in a 
royal or communal college, and in other countries by a profes- 
sor of mathematics in a university. In these latter cases the 
examiners must forward certain statements ; among these must 
be a certificate that at least twelve questions from the pro- 
gramme of the school have been answered by the candidate 
in the oral examinations, the questions being specified, and a 
number appended to each to designate the character of the an- 
swer; another, that three questions from the same source have 
been answered in the written examination, without the aid of 
books, except only logarithmic tables, if required. There must 
further be a certificate of the moral character of the can- 
didate. These examinations should be made in time to trans- 
mit the result to Paris before the twenty-fifth of October. The 
applicants are informed of the result at their residence, and if 
admitted, must join the school before the tenth of November. 

The qualifications for admission are given in detail, to meet 
the requisition above stated; they may be stated, generally, as 
follows : 

Arithmetic. The four ground rules. The general theory of 
numbers. Vulgar and decimal fractions. Theory of fractions. 
Decimals. System of weights and measures. 

Algebra. Tiie ground rules. Simple and quadratic equations. 
Resolution of problems. Proportions. The extraction of roots 



566 GEXERAL EDUCATION. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

and raising of powers. The binomial theorem. Powers and 
root of polynomials. Logarithms. Progressions. 

Geometry. The principal propositions of plane, superficial, 
and solid geometry. The application of algebra to geometry. 
Mensuration. 

Besides these necessary qualifications, the council of the 
school recommend to candtdates the further study of the ele- 
ments of descriptive geometry, of plane trigonometry, and of 
analytical geometry, and to acquire some general ideas of phy- 
sics and chemistry. They are particularly advised, also, to 
pi'osecute drawing, and especially ornamental drawing. 

Instruction. The lull course at the central school lasts three 
years, as at the polytechnic school. " The instruction is com- 
posed of lectures, of daily interrogations, of graphic exercises 
or drawing (travaux graphiques), of manipulations in che- 
mistry, stone-cutting, carpentry, physics and mechanics, of 
constructions, problems, plans, partial competitions, or trials 
of skill by the pupils, and of general examinations." 

The studies and exercises of the first year, as well as the lec- 
tures of the succeeding years, are obligatory upon all the pupils. 
They are intended to lay the foundation upon which the special 
courses are to rest, conveying principles applicable to all arts. 
The drawings and manipulations, and the projects or plans for 
work, are divided into two sections, one general, the other spe- 
cial. The four sections of the special division are, first, the 
construction of machines and the mechanic arts; second, en- 
gineering, building, the physical arts, as warming, lighting, &c.; 
third, chemistry applied to the arts; fourth, mining and metal- 
lurgy, or the working of metals. The pupil decides at the end 
of the first half year of the second course to which of these sec- 
tions he means to attach himself. 

There are three divisions, or classes, corresponding to the 
three years of study, to proceed from one to the other of which 
the pupil must pass a satisfactory examination on the subject of 
the preceding year. 

The following is an outline of the courses of the three 
v-ears. 



SCHOOL OF ARTS AND MANUFACTURES OF PARIS. 567 



First Year. 

Descriptive Geometry. Theory, and applications to perspective, shades and 
shadows, stone-cutting and carpentry. The pupils reduce the demonstrations to 
writing-, and sketch the diagrams. A few selected problems only are drawn 
with instruments. 

Analytical Geometry and Rational (theoretical) Mechanics. Trigonometry, 
analytical geometry. Statics. Dynamics, hydrostatics, hydrodynamics. 

Theory of Machines. 

General Physics. General discussions. Solid, liquid, and gaseous bodies. 
Heat. Electricity. Magnetism. Light. 

The pupils are exercised in determining specific gravities, in the construction 
of the thermometer, the use of the hygrometer, and in the determination of 
heights by the barometer. 

General Chemistry. General doctrines. Simple non-metallic substances. 
Selections from their compounds, with oxygen. Compounds with hydrogen. 
The metals. General properties of chlorides, &c. The salts. Organic che- 
mistry. Vegetable and animal substances. 

Hygiene and Natural History applied to the Arts. The first part of the 
course is composed of the principles of physiology and hygiene. The second, 
of the natural history of organized beings which yield substances useful in the 
arts. 

Second and Third Years. 

Descriptive Geometry. Explanations by the professors, and modelling pro- 
blems in stone-cutting in plaster. 

Rational Mechanics. Conclusion of the course begun in the first year, with 
numerous applications, and the solution of problems. 

Theory of Machines. This course is divided into two parts, which are taught 
alternately every two years, to the united first and second classes. Section A. 
Elementary machines. Animal power. Hydraulic machines. Section B. Ap- 
plication of theory to the machines for raising water or transmitting pressure. 
Wind-mills and blowing machines. Strength of materials. 

Students of the second class submit elementary plans for machinery as appli- 
cations of the course, and those of the first class more enlarged projects, with 
drawings, calculations, estimates, and descriptions. 

Construction of Machines. Section A. On the materials used in the con- 
struction of machines. On the composition of machines and their elementary 
parts. Section B. On the erection of machines. 

The students present plans, as in the course just described. 

Physics applied to the Arts. Section A. Strength of materials. Balances. 
Heating. Motion of air in pipes, &c. Vaporization. Construction of lightning- 
rods. Section B. Distillation. Evaporation. Dyeing. Heating of gases and 
liquids. Cooling of bodies. Lighting. 

These lectures occupy the first half of each year in these two classes. The 
plans, drawings, and descriptive memoirs of the kind before referred to are 
discussed by the professor, with sections of the class, who meet twice a week for 
the purpose. The pupils also construct models of tlie chimneys and furnaces 



668 , GENERAL EDUCATION. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

described in the course, with prisms of plaster, of one-fourth the size of ordinary 
bricks. These are executed under the superintendence of the professor and 
repeater. 

Analytical Chemistry. The course consists of twenty lessons in mineral analy- 
sis, and sixteen in org-anic analysis. During the course, special laboratories are 
open, in wliich the pupils, in turn, practice the processes most useful in their in- 
tended callings. 

Chemistry applied to the Arts. Each section of the course occupies a year, 
and consists of twelve lectures. Section A. The materials drawn from the earth 
and applicable to all the arts; the manufacture of mineral preparations; the pre- 
paration of plaster, lime, and mortar; tJie manufacture of pottery, enamel, and 
glass; the extraction of metals; the composition of alloys; the different applica- 
tions of raw or residual matters in the arts, agriculture, and domestic economy. 
The same method of requiring plans and memoirs, as above described, is followed 
in this course. 

Architecture and Civil Engineering. Section A. Architecture, elements of 
architectural forms. Discussion of difl'erent buildings, public and private, ma- 
sonry, carpentry, joiner's work, lock-smith's work, roofing, foundations, esti- 
mates, plans. The students visit different works in the course of erection, and 
are exercised in drawing plans and in taking levels. Section B. Roads ; bridges 
of stone and wood; suspension bridges; movable bridges; river navigation; canal 
navigation; supply and distribution of water. 

Geognosy and Mining, Section A. Geography, physical geography, mineralo- 
gy, geology. Tlie principal mineral and geological species are presented to the 
students, and excursions are made in summer, in the neighbourhood of Paris, 
for practice. Section B. 1. Mining. General principles. Means of excavation. 
Working of Mines. Details of working. Mining jurisprudence. 2. General 
metallurgy. Mechanical preparation of the ores. Reduction and refining of the 
difterent metals. 

Special Metallurgy of Iron. Section A. Smelting furnaces and foundries. 
Treatment of ores to obtain cast iron. Refining of iron. Section B. Manu- 
facture of iron and steel. 

Special Courses for the Third Year. 
The Steam-engine, with the details of its construction, varieties, and applica- 
tions. 

Rail-roads. Their construction, and the means of locomotion upon them. 

The students are examined daily upon thie subjects of their 
lectures, by the professors and repeaters. The utility of this 
latter class of teachers is well estabUshed in France, and they 
are found in every institution in which lecturing is practised 
to a great extent as a means of instruction; they prevent the 
burthen of teaching from falling upon professors, whose duty 
it is to be engaged in advancing, as well as in propagating 
science, and who would be prevented from following one or 



SCHOOL OF ARTS AND MANUFACTURES OP PARIS. 669 

Other of these honourable and useful careers, by having the 
duty of teaching superadded to that of lecturing. So well 
is the necessity of relieving the professor understood, that 
in all courses requiring preparation, special persons are ap- 
pointed, called preparers, who take off this burthen also from 
the professor. The result is, that many men of high eminence 
are thus enabled to diffuse their knowledge among students by 
lecturing, and are willing to do so, though they have other and 
more profitable employments, to which they would exclusively 
confine themselves, if this were connected with teaching by 
interrogation and the task of preparing experimental illustra- 
tions. The pupil is thus greatly the gainer, and has at the 
same time the special examination upon the lectures which is 
so necessary to complete the instruction, and to which a re- 
peater is entirely competent. Young men of talent seek the 
situations of repeaters as the best method of showing their 
particular qualifications, and the most certain road to a pro- 
fessorship. For each recitation the pupil receives a mark, and 
the roll of the class with these marks being preserved, its in- 
dications are combined with the results of the examination, 
to decide upon the fitness of a pupil when he comes forward 
for a diploma. 

The graphic exercises consist in the drawing of ornamental 
work, in India ink drawing, in drawing with the steel pen and 
instruments, and in sketching the diagrams of the lectures to a 
scale. Great importance is attached to this part of the course, 
and much time spent in it. The rooms for these exercises are 
conveniently arranged, and the pupils are superintended during 
them by a professor or a repeater, and visited occasionally by 
the director of studies or his deputies. The drawing-tables are 
so arranged that the pupils stand while at work, which at their 
age is very desirable. 

The arrangements for chemical manipulation by the students 
are very complete; they have access not only to the laborato- 
ries of the two professors, but to others which are devoted to 
special branches. During the first year every student is em- 
ployed in laboratory duty once a week, and has also the oppor- 
72 



570 GENERAL EDUCATIOX. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

tunity of performing some of the principal physical experiments. 
They are superintended, while thus occupied, by repeaters. 
During the first half year of the second course the students are 
called, in turn, to general duty in the laboratory; and during 
the second half of the same year, and the whole of the third, 
the two sections who follow the courses of chemistry applied 
to the arts and metallurgy, are employed in manipulations con- 
nected with them. There is an officer for their superintendence, 
called the director (chef) of the chemical exercises, who is 
subordinate to the professor of chemical analysis. The oppor- 
tunities thus afforded of acquiring a general practice under the 
guidance of the distinguished professors of this school are in- 
valuable, and form, one of the most important features of the 
establishment. 

The materials for constructing models of some of the more 
useful works, and apparatus relating to the arts, are furnished 
to the pupils, and used under the direction of their instructors. 
The collections of mathematical and physical apparatus, and 
in technology, are very respectable, and are increasing, it being 
clearly understood by those who control the school, that these 
and similar collections are of essential importance to the suc- 
cess of the courses. There is a library of works relating 
to the arts, which is open to students of the first and second 
classes on stated days, and during particular hours, for con- 
sultation. 

The practical application of the subjects taught is early intro- 
duced to the students by problems, requiring more or less inge- 
nuity in their solution; from these the next step is to require the 
detailed plan of some simple work, and from this the exercise 
rises to the drawings, estimates, and descriptive memoir accom- 
panying the supposed arrangement of some complex establish- 
ment for manufacturing or other purpose of the arts. 

No attempt is made to connect practice in the use of me- 
chanical tools with that in general manipulation, even as a spe- 
cial course, a point to which I shall have occasion to recur, 
as one of the questions of most doubtful solution relating to this 
class of schools. 



SCHOOL OF ARTS AND MANUFACTURES OF PARIS. 571 

At the close of each year the pupils are examined, and from 
the results of this trial, combined with their marks for the year, 
and the graphic exercises which they present, is determined 
according to the class to which the pupils belong, whether they 
shall be allowed to pass on to the next higher class, or to re- 
ceive their diploma. The course begins on the tenth of No- 
vember, and terminates in July. The examinations are com- 
pleted before the tenth of August. 

Graduation of the pupils. The student who goes through the 
courses of the school satisfactorily, and passes a final examina- 
tion upon all the matters required of him, receives the diploma 
of civil engineer. One who does not come up to the require- 
ments in all the branches may, nevertheless, receive a certificate 
of capacity in those where his attainments are sufficient. 

Students of the third class, who are candidates for gradua- 
tion, begin the exercises for that purpose on the fifteenth of 
J une, and have forty days to prepare them. Each of the four 
sections into which the pupils are divided, namely, mechani- 
cians, constructors, chemists, and metallurgists, are expected 
to complete a different exercise, consisting of a plan or project 
of an establishment, the drawings in relation to which must be 
made in the school, and which must be accompanied by a de- 
scriptive memoir. Every student is examined upon his work, 
and must explain and defend it. The drawings and memoirs 
thus executed become the property of the school, and are fre- 
quently very useful in the instruction. 

The strictness of the council of studies, in exacting high quali- 
fications for diplomas, has had the effect of placing the charac- 
ter of this school in so fair a point of view, that its graduates 
have no difficulty in finding places ; on the contrary, indeed, 
they are in request for the employments which the institution 
certifies that they arc able to fill. An abstract from the list of the 
employments of students who had left the school with diplomas or 
certificates, within the six years preceding 1837-8, will servo to 
show that the pupils are engaged in occupations for which the 
courses were intended to qualify them, and that thus the institu- 
tion actually accomplishes what it professes. The record does 



572 GEIVERAL EDUCATIOIT. SUPERIOR PERIOD* 

not, however, include all those who have left the school with 
its diploma or certificate, there being some whose occupations 
have not been reported to the authorities. The number in- 
cluded in the list is ninety, of which twenty-four are civil 
engineers, eleven manufacturers, ele'ven machinists and con- 
structors of manufactories of various kinds, nine miners, eight 
constructors of iron work, seven engaged in iron works, six 
professors of chemistry, mathematics and mechanics, four 
manufacturing chemists, three preparers and repeaters in che- 
mical courses, two architects, one engineer of a gas-works, one 
assayer, three officers connected with civil and military ser- 
vice and trade. 

This institution, though in the beginning only a private en- 
terprise, has been entirely successful, and supplies to young 
men who are out of the government civil service, facilities for 
acquiring knowledge, similar to those which the Polytechnic 
School, and the Schools of IMines and Roads and Bridges, do in 
that service. 

SCHOOL OF COMMERCE AND THE INDUSTRIAL ARTS, AT CHA- 

RONNE.* 

This institution is a private boarding-school, furnishing in- 
struction in the usual literary branches, as well as those prepa- 
ratory to commerce, the mechanic arts, and manufactures. 
The pupils are divided into three sections, corresponding to 
these three purposes. The peculiarity of the school, which is 
worthy of especial notice, is the establishment of a general 
machinist's shop on the premises, and in which the pupils belong- 
ing to the division of the arts, and others, whose parents desire 
it, are employed a certain number of hours o( the day. As this 
is a private undertaking, not aided by government funds, eco- 
nomy in this last feature is of course particularly desirable. On 
trial, it has been found only attainable by leasing the machine- 
shops to a skilful mechanic, who in return binds himself to take 
and instruct the pupils, under certain regulations. This arrange- 

• M. Pinel Grandchamp, director. 



SCHOOLS OF ARTS OF PRUSSIA. 573 

ment has the disadvantage that, instead of seeing a variety of 
work, the pupils are frequently confined to one kind, according 
to the description of orders taken by the lessee of the shops. 
The plan of varied work, in which the pupils were employed 
during certain hours of the day, as apprentices, was found too 
expensive. The difficulties of practical education in these 
branches, out of the regular work-shops, will be referred to again. 

SCHOOLS OF ARTS OF PRUSSIA. 

In Prussia, every trade in which a want of skill may jeopard 
human life, is regulated by law ; and before its exercise can be 
commenced, a license is required, to obtain which an examina- 
tion must be passed. This requisition of the law is considered 
to involve a reciprocal obligation on the part of the govern- 
ment to afford the opportunity of obtaining the necessary 
knowledge, and schools have accordingly been established for 
the purpose. Twenty of the regencies of the kingdom already 
have technical schools established in them, where instruction is, 
in general, given at the expense of the state, or province, or for 
a very trifling remuneration ; and it is the intention that each 
regency shall have at least one such school within its limits. 
When there is a burgher school in the place intended as the lo- 
cality for one of these technical schools, the two schools are 
connected as already described: at Potsdam, the special tech- 
nical course alone being given in a separate department. In 
all cases the government supplies the apparatus for the courses 
of mechanics, physics, and chemistry; furnishes the requisite en- 
gravings for the courses of drawing; and supplies works for the 
library and for instruction. The courses are intended to reach 
the grade of the lower class of the Berlin Institute of Arts, to be 
subsequently described, a purpose which is actually accom- 
plished in a part of the schools. Some of the communes have 
erected schools similar to these, at their own expense, or have 
aided in establishing or improving the provincial schools. The 
cost of these twenty schools, annually, is between seven and 
ten thousand dollars. 

The most promising pupils from the provincial schools usually 



674 GENERAL EDUCATIOIf. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

find places at the central Institute at Berlin, which is in fact 
the university of arts. 

There is a special school for ship-builders at Stettin, in Po- 
merania. 

INSTITUTE OF ARTS OF BERLIN.' 

This institution is intended to impart the theoretical know- 
ledge essential to improvement in the arts, and such practical 
knowledge as can be acquired to advantage in a school. It is 
supported by the government, and has also a legacy, to be ex- 
pended in bursaries at the school, from Baron Von Seydlitz. 
The institution is under the charge of a director,f who has the 
entire control of the funds, of the admissions and dismissions, 
and the superintendence of the instruction. The professors and 
pupils do not reside in the establishment, so that the superinten- 
dence is confined to study-hours. There are assistant profes- 
sors, who prepare the lectures, and conduct a part of the exer- 
cises, in some cases reviewing the lessons of the professors with 
the pupils. Besides these officers there are others, who have 
charge of the admirable collections of the institution, and of the 
work-shops, offices, &c. The number of professors is eight, and 
of repeaters, two. The discipline is of the most simple charac- 
ter, for no pupil is allowed to remain in connexion with the 
institution unless his conduct and progress are satisfactory. 
There is but one punishment recognised, namely, dismission; 
and even a want of punctuality is visited thus severely. 

In the spring of every year the regencies advertise that appli- 
cations will be received for admission into the institute, and the 

• Gewerbinstitut, literally, trade institute. I am indebted to the director, 
privy counsellor Beutli, for a lithographic outline and programme of this institu- 
tion, and to the Hon. Ilcnry Whcaton, minister of the United States at Berlin, 
for an account of the industrial schools of Prussia, by Captain BeauliCu, Belgian 
charge d'affaires at Berlin. M. Beuth gave me every facility in visiting the 
institution. 

t The director, M. Beuth, is also president of tlie Royal Technical Commis- 
sion of Prussia, and has the distribution of the funds for the encouragement of 
industry, amounting to about sevent3^-five thousand dollars annually. M. Beuth 
is also a privy counsellor, and is president of the Society for the Encouragement 
of National Industry in Prussia. 



INSTITUTE OF ARTS AT BERLIN. 575 

testimonials of the candidates who present the best claims are 
forwarded to the director at Berlin, who decides finally upon the 
several nominations. The pupils from the provincial schools 
have, in general, the preference over other applicants. At the 
same time notice is given by the president of the Society for 
the Promotion of National Industry, in relation to the bursaries 
vacant upon the Seydlitz foundation. The qualifications es- 
sential to admission are — to read and write the German 
language with correctness and facility, and to be thoroughly 
acquainted with arithmetic in all its branches. The candidate 
must, besides, be at least seventeen years of age. Certain of 
the pupils, as will be hereafter more fully stated, require to have 
served an apprenticeship to a trade. The Seydlitz bursars must, 
in addition, show — 1st. That their parents were not artisans,* 
relatives of the founder having the preference over other 
applicants. 2d. That they have been apprenticed to a trade, 
if they intend to follow one not taught in the institution. 3d. 
They must enter into an engagement that if they leave the me- 
chanical career they will pay back the amount of their bursa- 
ries. There are sixty or seventy gratuitous pupils in the school, 
of whom eighteen are upon the Seydlitz foundation. Forty are 
admitted annually, this number having been adopted because it 
is found that, in the course of the first month, about a fourth of 
the newly admitted pupils fall away from the institution. Each 
bursar receives two hundred and twenty-five dollars per annum 
for maintenance. The education is gratuitous. The regular 
pupils enter on the first of October, but the director is authorized 
to admit, at his pleasure, applicants who do not desire to be- 
come bursars, but who support themselves, receiving gratui- 
tously, however, the instruction afibrded by the institution. 

The education of the pupils is either solely theoretical, or 
combines theory and practice, according to the calling which 
they intend to follow. The first division is composed of students, 

• The object of M. Von Seydlitz appears to liave been to counteract, to the ex- 
tent of his power, the tendency to tlic increase of the learned professions, at thq 
expense of the mechanic arts, by an inducement to a course exactly contrary tQ 
the usual one. 



"~570 GENERAL EDUCATION. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

\v!io receive theoretical instruction only, and who are preparing 
to become masons, carpenters, and joiners. They are supposed 
to have become acquainted with the practice of their trade be- 
fore entering the institution, being required to have served, pre- 
viously, a part of their apprenticeship. An excellent reason is 
assigned for this rule, namely, that on leaving the school such 
pupils are too old to begin their apprenticeship to these callings,, 
and would, if they attempted to do so, find the first beginnings 
so irksome as to induce them to seek other employments, and 
thus their special education would be lost, and the object of the 
school defeated. The second division embraces both theoreti- 
cal and practical instruction, and consists of three classes. First, 
the stone-cutters, engravers, lapidaries, glass-cutters, carvers in 
wood and ivory, and brass-founders. Second, dyers and manu- 
factures of chemical products. Third. Machine-makers and 
mechanicians. The practical instruction is different for each 
of these three classes. 

The general course of studies last two years, and the pupils 
are divided into two corresponding classes. The first class is, 
besides, subdivided into two sections. The lower or second 
class is taught first; mechanical drawing, subdivided into deco- 
rative drawing, including designs for architectural ornaments, 
utensils, vases, patterns for weaving, &c., and linear drawing, 
applied to civil works, to handicrafts, and to machines. Second, 
modelling in clay, plaster, and wax. Third, practical arithme- 
tic. Fourth, geometry. Fifth, natural philosophy. Sixth, che- 
mistry. Seventh, technology, or a knowledge of tiie materials, 
processes, and products of the arts. The studies of the lower 
section of the first class are general, while those of the first sec- 
tion turn more particularly upon the applications of science to 
the arts. In the lower section, the drawing, modelling, natural 
philosophy, and chemistry, of the first year, are continued; and, 
in addition, descriptive geometry, trigonometry, stereometry, 
mixed mathematics, mineralogy, and the art of construction are 
studied. In the upper or first section, perspective, stone-cutting, 
carpentry, and mechanics applied to the arts, are taught, and 
the making of plans and estimates for buildings, work-shops, 



IN'STITUTE OF ARTS AT BERLIN. 577 

liianufactories, machines, &c. These courses are common to 
all pupils, whatever may be their future destination; but beside 
them, the machinists study, during the latter part of their stay at 
the institution, a continuation of the course of mechanics and 
mathematical analysis. The examples accompanying the in- 
struction in regard to plans and estimates are adapted to the 
intended pursuits of the pupils. ' ^ 

The courses of practice are begun by the pupils already enu- 
merated as taking part in them, at different periods of their stay 
in the institution. The future chemists and mechanics must 
have completed the whole range of studies above mentioned, 
as common to all the pupils, while the others begin their practice 
after having completed the first year's course. There are work- 
shops for each class of pupils, where they are taught the practice 
of their proposed calling, under competent workmen. There are 
two foundries for bronze castings, one for small, the other for 
large castings, and the work turned out of both bears a high 
character. A specimen of this work is retained by the institu- 
tion in a beautiful fountain, which ornaments one of the courts 
of the building. The models for castings are made in the estab- 
lishment. In the first division of pupils, in reference to their 
callings, there are usually some whose art is connected with the 
fine arts in some of its branches, and these have an opportunity 
during part of the week to attend the courses of the Berlin Aca- 
demy. The future chemists work for half the year in the labo- 
ratory. They are chiefly employed in chemical analysis, being 
furnished with the requisite materials for practice by the institu- 
tion.' In the shops for the instruction of mechanics are machines 
for working in wood and the metals, a steam-engine of four horses' 
power, a forge, tools in great variety, lathes, &c. The pupils 
have the use of all necessary implements, according to their 
progress, and are gradually taught, as if serving a regular ap- 
prenticeship. When capable, they are enabled to construct ma- 
chines which may be useful to them subsequently, as a lathe, or 
machine for cutting screws, or the teeth of wheels, &c., and 
are furnished with all the materials for the purpose, the machine 
becoming their own property. In these work-shops, also, the 
73 



578 GENERAL EDDCATlOPf. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

models for the cabinet of the school are made. This is by far 
the most complete establishment for practice which I met with 
in any institution, and I believe the practice is both real and 
effectual. It involves, however, an expenditure which in other 
cases it has not been practicable to command. The scale of the 
whole institution is, in the particular of expenditure, most gene- 
rous. 

This is one specimen of the various plans which have been 
devised to give practical knowledge of an art in connexion 
with theory in a school. It is first most judiciously laid down 
that certain trades cannot be taught to advantage in a similar 
connexion, but that the practical knowledge must be acquired 
by an apprenticeship antecedent to the theoretical studies. There 
are besides, however, a large number of trades, the practice 
of which is to be taught in the institution, and requiring a very 
considerable expenditure to carry out the design properly. 
This could not be attempted in a school less munificently en- 
dowed, and requires very strict regulations to carry it through 
even here. The habits of a school work-shop are, in general, not 
those of a real manufactory, where the same articles are made 
to be sold as a source of profit; hence, though the practical 
knowledge may be acquired, the habits of work are not, and 
the mechanic may be well taught but not well trained. At the 
private school of Charonne, work-shops were established, giving 
a variety of occupation to the pupils; but the disposition to play 
rather than to work, rendered these establishments too costly to 
be supported by a private institution, and the plan adopted 
instead of this, was to make the pupils enter a regular work- 
shop for a stated number of hours, to work for the proprietor 
or lessee. This plan remedies one evil, but introduces another, 
that as the machinist takes orders, with a view to profit, the 
work may have so little variety as only to benefit a small class 
of the pupils. The pupils at Charonne are, however, under 
different circumstances from those at Berlin; they are general- 
ly younger, and, being independent of the school, where they 
pay for their education, are not under the same restraint as in 
the other institution; hence the experience of the one school 



INSTITUTE OF ARTS AT EERLII?. 579 

does hot apply in full force to the other. At Dresden, in a 
school somewhat similar to that of Berlin, a different mode from 
either of those just mentioned has been adopted. An arrange- 
ment is made with a number of mechanics, of different occupa- 
tions, to receive pupils from the schools as apprentices, allowing 
them the privilege of attending, during certain specified hours of 
the day, upon the theoretical exeixises of the institution. Where 
such an arrangement can be made, the results are unexception- 
able, and the advantages likely to accrue to the mechanic arts, 
from the union of theory with practice, will offer a strong in- 
ducement to liberally disposed mechanics to take apprentices 
upon these terms. Small work-shops, connected with an insti- 
tution, must necessarily offer inferior advantages, even if closely 
regulated, so as to procure the greatest possible amount of work 
from the pupils ; this should not be done for the sake of the 
profit, but to give him genuinely good habits. 

The difficulties in giving practical instruction in the chemical 
arts are not to be compared with those under discussion, and 
will be found to have been satisfactorily obviated in several 
schools. This subject will receive its more appropriate discus- 
sion in connexion with the polytechnic institution of Vienna, 
where the chemical department, at least as far as manufacturing 
chemistry is concerned, is generally recognised as having pro- 
duced the best results of any yet established. 

Returning to the subject of the theoretical instruction in the 
Berlin institute of arts, the following statement will serve to 
show the succession of the courses, with the time devoted to 

each : — 

WINTER COURSE. 

Monday. First Class. First division — drawing and sketching machines, eight 
A. M. to twelve o'clock. Discussion of machines, estimates of 
power, &c., two P. M. to five P. M, Second division — machine 
drawing, eight to ten. ModeUing in clay, ten to twelve. Phy- 
sics, two to five. 
Second Class. Machine-drawing, eight to ten. Modelling, ten to 
twelve. Elements of geometry, two to four. Repetition of the 
lecture, four to five. 
Tuesday. First Class. First division — architectural plans and estimates, eight 
to twelve. Practical instruction in machinery, two to five. Second 



580 



GENERAL EDUCATION. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 



division — ornamental and architectural drawing, eight to twelve. 
Trigonometry, two to five. 

Second Class. Ornamental and architectural drawing, eight to 
twelve. Physics, two to four. Repetition of the lecture, four to 
five. 
Wednesday. First Class. First division — original designs, eight to twelve. Dis- 
cussion of machinery. Second division — mineralogy, eight to 
nine. Machine-drawing, nine to twelve. Trigonometry, two to 
five. 

Second Class. Machine-drawing, eight to twelve. Practical arith- 
metic, two to five. 
Thursday. First Class. First division — Drawing and sketching machines, 
eight to twelve. Architectural instruction, estimates, two to five. 
Second division — decorative and architectural drawing, eight 
to ten. Modelling in clay, ten to twelve. Trigonometry, two 
to five. 

Second Class. Decorative and architectural drawing, eight to 
ten. Modelling in clay, ten to twelve. PJiysics, two to four. 
Repetition of the lecture, four to five. 
Friday. First Class. First division — architectural plans, eight to twelve. 

Practical instruction in machinery, two to five. Second divi. 
sion — machine-drawing, eight to twelve. Physics, two to five. 

Second Class. Machine-drawing, eight to twelve. Elementary ma- 
thematics, two to four. Repetition of the lesson, four to five. 
Saturday. First Class. First division — perspective and stone-cutting, eight to 
twelve. Original designs, two to five. Second division — mi- 
neralogy, eight to nine. Decorative and architectural drawing, 
nine to twelve. Trigonometry, two to five. 

Second Class. Decorative and architectural drawing, eight to twelve. 
Practical arithmetic, two to five. 

The summer term, which follows this, embraces the practi- 
cal instruction. 

SUMMER TERM. 

Monday. First Class. First division — in the work-shops from seven A. M. to 
twelve, and from one until seven P. ]\I. Second division — machine- 
drawing, eight to twelve. Applied mathematics, two to five. 
Second Class. Machine-drawing, eight to ten. Modelling, ten to 
twelve. Chemistry, two to four. Repetition, four to five. 

Tuesday. First Class. First division — analytical dynamics, eiglit to nine. 
Drawing of machines from original designs, nine to twelve. 
Machinery, two to five. Second division — decorative and archi- 
tectural drawing, eight to twelve. Chemistry two to five. 
Second Class. Decorative and architectural drawing, eight to 
twelve. Elementary mathematics, two to four. Repetition, four 
to five. 

Wednesday. First Class. First division — in tlic workshops from seven to twelve, 
and from one to seven. Second division — machine-drawing, 



INSTITUTE OF ARTS AT IJERLIX. 



581 



eight to ten. Modelling, ten to twelve. Applied mathematics, 
two to five. 
Second Class. Machine-drawing, eight to twelve. Practical arith- 
metic, two to four. Materials used in the arts, four to five. 

Thursday. First Class. First division — in the work-shops from seven to 
twelve, and from one to seven. Second division — machine-draw- 
ing, eight to ten. Modelling, ten to twelve. Applied mathe- 
matics, two to five. 
Second Class. Decorative and architectual drawing, eight to ten. 
Modelling, ten to twelve. Chemistry, two to four. Repetition 
of the lesson, four to five. 

J'riday. First Class. First division — analytical dynamics, eight to nine. 

Drawing of a machine for an original design, nine to twelve. 
Machinery, two to five. Second division — chemistry, eight to 
nine. Applied mathematics, nine to twelve. Chemistry, two to 
five. 
Second Class. Machine-drawing, eight to twelve. Elementary 
mathematics, two to four. Repetition of the lesson, four to five. 

Saturday. First Class. First division — in the work-shops from seven to twelve, 
and from one to seven. Second division — decorative and archi- 
tectural drawing, eight to twelve. Applied mathematics, two to 
five. 
Second Class. Decorative and architectural drawing, eight to 
twelve. Practical arithmetic, two to four. Materials used io 
the arts, four to five. 
The chemical division of the practical classes is engaged every day in the 

laboratory. On Tuesday and Wednesday tlie library is open for reading from 

five to eight, P. M. 

The collections for carrying out the various branches of in- 
struction are upon the same liberal scale with the other parts 
of the institution. There is a library of works on architecture, 
mechanics, technology, the various arts, archeology, &c., in 
German, French and English. This library is open twice a 
week, from five to eight in the evening, to the pupils of the first 
class of the school, and to such mechanics as apply for the use 
of it. 

There is a rich collection of drawings of new and useful ma- 
chines, and of illustrations of the difierent courses, belonging to 
the institution. Among them is a splendid work, published 
under the direction of Mr. Bcuth, entitled Models for Manu- 
facturers and Artisans (Vorlegebliitter fur Fabricanten und 
Handwerker), containing engravings by the best artists of Ger- 
manv, and some even from France and England, applicable to 



582 GENERAL EDUCATION. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

the diflerent arts and to architecture and engineering. Among 
the drawings are many from original designs by Shenckel, of 
Berlin.* There is a second useful but more ordinary series of 
engravings, on similar subjects, also executed for the use of the 
school. These works are distributed to the provincial trade 
schools, and presented to such of the mechanics of Prussia as 
have especially distinguished themselves in their vocations. 
The collection of models of machinery belonging to the school 
probably ranks next in extent and value to that at the Conser- 
vatory of Arts of Paris. It contains models of such machines 
as are not readily comprehended by drawings. Most of them 
are working models, and many were made in the work-shops 
of the school. They are constructed, as far as possible, to a 
uniform scale, and the parts of the models are of the same ma- 
terials as in the actual machine. There is an extensive collection 
of casts, consisting of copies of statues, basso-relievos, utensils, 
bronzes, and vases of the museums of Naples, Rome, and Flo- 
rence, and of the British Museum, and of the models of archi- 
tectural monuments of Greece, Rome, Pompeii, &c., and copies 
of models, cameos, and similar objects ; those specimens only 
have been selected which are not in the collection of the Aca- 
demy of Fine Arts of Berlin, to which the pupils of the Institute 
of Arts have access. There are good collections of physical 
and chemical apparatus, of minerals, of geological and techno- 
logical specimens. 

The instruction is afforded in part by the lectures of the pro- 
fessors, aided by text-books specially intended for the school, 
and in part by the interrogations of the professors and of the 
assistants and repeaters. At the close of the first year there 
is an examination to determine which of the pupils shall be per- 
mitted to go forward, and at the close of the second year to 
detcniiine which shall receive the certificate of the institute. 
Alt]ioug!i the pupils who come from the provinces are admitted 



* A copy of tliis work has been most liberally presented to the Girard College 
by the TechnicalCommission, of which Mr.Beuth is president. The work having 
been published by the government, is not sold. 



POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE OF VIENNA. 583 

to the first class of the institute, upon their presenting a testi- 
monial that they have gone through the courses of the provincial 
schools satisfactorily, it frequently happens that they are obliged 
to retire to the second, especially from defective knowledge of 
chemistry. 

The cost of this school to the government is about twelve 
thousand dollars annually, exclusive of the amount expended 
upon the practical courses and upon the collections — a very 
trifling sum, if the good which it is calculated to do throughout 
the country is considered. The comparatively recent existence 
of the institution does not admit of appealing to decided results 
which have flowed to the mechanic arts in Prussia from its 
establishment, but there can be no doubt of its tendency, and 
its pupils are already known to be making their way success- 
fully, in consequence of the advantages wdiich they have here 
enjoyed. 

POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE OF VIENNA. 

This is one of the most flourishing polytechnic institutions of 
Germany, and its characteristics are so different from those of 
the institute at Berlin, that there is little danger of repetition in 
describing this school also. 

The whole institution is intended to fulfil a threefold purpose — 
as a school for the mechanic arts, manufactures, and commercey 
as a conservatory of arts and manufactures, and as an institute 
for the promotion of national industry. The last named object is 
effected by public exhibitions, from time to time, of the products 
of manufactures, under the direction of the institute. For the 
better execution of this object, a spacious building is now erect- 
ing on the premises, adapted to the occasional display and per- 
manent deposite of specimens of the mechanic arts. The col- 
lections which form the conservatory of arts are also used for 
instruction in the school, and will be described in connexion 
with it. 

The whole institution is under the control of a director,* who 

* M. J. J. Prechtel, formerly professor of chemistry. 



684 GENERAL EDUCATION. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

is responsible to the higher authorities of public instruction, and 
of trade and manufactures. The director is the general super- 
intendent of the business of the institute and of the instruction, 
but does not teach. He regulates the admission of pupils and 
the discipline. The money concerns are under the charge 
of a treasurer, who is responsible to the director. The infe- 
rior officers are responsible to the same authority. The dis- 
cipline of the scholastic department is simple but rigid, no 
pupil being allowed to remain connected with it whose deport- 
ment is not proper. The courses are gratuitous, except a small 
entrance fee, and this is considered as warranting prompt re- 
moval when the pupil does not perform the duties prescribed 
by the institution. 

The department of instruction is composed of three schools, 
a technical, a commercial, and a "real school." The last named 
is a preparatory school for the two others, and may be entered 
as early as thirteen years of age. Its courses are of religious 
instruction, of German language, elementary mathematics, geo- 
graphy, history, natural history, elocution, calligraphy, and 
drawing, and are obligatory upon the pupils. Italian and French 
may be studied if the pupil desires it. As these courses lead in 
three years to the other departments of the institution, the candi- 
dates for admission are required to possess the elementary at- 
tainments necessary to their successful prosecution. There 
are five professors and four teachers connected with this school, 
which is superintended by the vice-director of the institute. 
The instructors rank by regulation with those in the gymna- 
sia or classical schools of the empire. The course of in- 
struction is not as comprehensive as that in the Prussian real 
schools, but is an adequate preparation for the next higher divi- 
sions, which supply in part these deficiencies. 

The technical and commercial schools furnish special instruc- 
tion according to the intended pursuits of the pupil, though he 
may, in fact, select the courses which he wishes to attend, not 
being limited as to the number or character of the branches. 
The director advises with the pupil, on admission, as to the 
studies most appropriate to be followed, if his intended calling 



POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE AT VIENNA. 585 

is fixed, and he is not allowed to join the classes, the courses 
of which require preparation, without presenting a certificate 
from the school at which he has been instructed, or being ex- 
amined, to ascertain his proficiency. In regard to other courses, 
there is no such restriction. The age for admission is sixteen 
years. 

The instruction is given in the technical school by eight pro- 
fessors and two assistants; the professors lecturing, and in some 
of the courses, interrogating the pupils. Certain lectures are 
also gone over by the assistants with the classes. The courses 
which combine practice with teaching will be pointed out in 
enumerating the subjects of study. The division of these sub- 
jects, and the time devoted to them during the week, are as 
follows : 

/. General Chemistry, applied to the arts, five hours. 

JI. Special Technical Chemistry, ten hours. This course gives a particular 
account of all the processes of the arts of which the principles were developed in 
the general lectures. There is a special laboratory devoted to the course, where, 
under the superintendence of the professor or of his assistants, the pupils go 
through the processes on a small scale. Those who have a particular object 
in view, as dyeing, bleaching, printing upon stuffs, or the manufacture of 
chemical preparations or metallurgy, are directed in their investigations especial- 
ly to the parts of chemistry which they will have to apply. Practice and theory 
are thus combined. ///. Physics, with special reference to its applications, five 
hours. IV. Elementary Mathematics, including arithmetic, algebra, geometry, 
and mensuration, ten hours. This course is intended for those who have not 
passed through the real school. V. Higher Mathematics, five hours. There is a 
repetition by an assistant, also of five hours. VI. Mechanics, including the 
description and calculation of machines, five hours. This subject is founded upon 
a course of machines, consideVed as an application of descriptive geometry and 
drawing, superintended by an assistant. VII. Practical Geometry, including 
land and topograpliical surveying, levelling, &c., five hours. The lectures are ac- 
companied by practice in the use of instruments in the field. VIII. Civil and 
Hydraulic Architecture, ten hours. This includes a complete course of engi- 
neering, in its various branches. It is accompanied by exercises in drawing. 
IX. Technology, or a general discussion of arts and trades, five hours. The 
subjects which come under the head of special chemistry are omitted in the 
lectures of this division. X. The assistant professor of chemistry delivers an 
extra lecture, daily, on tlic methods of measuring Specific Gravities, during part 
of the course. XI. Elementary Drawing for those who have not passed through 
the real school, five hours. There are extra courses in the Latin, Bohemian, and 
English languages, for those who wish to follow them. 

The time devoted to drawing depends upon the student, but 

74 



586 GENERAL EDUCATION. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

it is obvious that his knowledge must be very incomplete, and 
that he will carry aw^ay from the school but an imperfect re- 
cord of descriptive geometry and its applications, unless he 
devotes a great deal of time to this branch. In this respect the 
arrangement of the school is entirely different from that at 
Berlin, where the drawings accompanying the courses are 
made as much a matter of regular duty as the attendance upon 
the lectures themselves. This is certainly the proper plan, and 
while it appeared to me that the time spent in the graphic 
exercises at Berlin was even beyond the measure of their im- 
portance, I am decidedly of opinion that a strict attention to 
this department is essential. 

The collections, by the aid of which these courses are car- 
ried out, are — 1. An extensive collection of chemical prepara- 
tions for both special and general chemistry. The pupils in 
special chemistry, as already stated, make preparations in the 
departments of the art which they intend to follow, and some 
of these are left behind them as specimens of their skill. In 
the department of the dyer there is quite a large series of 
specimens collected in this way. The laboratories for both 
special and general chemistry are admirably adapted to their 
purpose.* 2. A cabinet of instruments for the course of 
practical geometry. 3. A considerable collection of physical 
apparatus. 4. A collection of models of machines, and in 
engineering. 5. A technological cabinet of a most complete 
character, and admirably arranged; it contains many of the 
best specimens of Austrian arts and manufactures. All these 
collections are under the care of the professor in whose de- 
partment they find a place ; there being, besides, curators for 
the immediate chai'ge of them, and for keeping them in repair. 
The cabinet of physical apparatus, and of models and ma- 
chinery, were in the main supplied from the work-shops of the 
institution. These shops have long been celebrated for the 

* The laboratory of tlie professor of general chemistry, Professor Meissner, is 
one of the best arranged which I saw abroad. Tlie furnace operations, and 
others likely to incommode the class, arc performed behind a screen, with largo 
glass windows, which allow a perfect view : the space behind is provided with 
tlie means of carrviiig oiF the fuitics. 



POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE OF VIENNA. 587 

astronomical and geodesic instruments furnished from them. 
They are still kept up, though on a reduced scale, their chief 
object having been accomplished. They were never intended, 
like those of Berlin, to afford practical instruction to the pupils. 
The institution, indeed, does not recognise the principle that 
this can be done to advantage in the mechanical department. 
It is certain, as already stated, that great care is required to 
render such establishments of any avail beyond the point of 
giving to the pupil a general readiness with his hands, and that 
even when well conducted they -are expensive. Success in 
practical chemistry requires essentially a very considerable 
knowledge of theory; the processes on a small scale repre- 
sent, in general, fairly those upon the large, and experiments 
thus made frequently save the outlay which is required to make 
them in the large way. The practice in the laboratory of 
a school is, besides, very nearly of the kind required for the 
manufactory. These, among other circumstances, render the 
problem in regard to successful preparation for the arts de- 
pending upon chemistry, different from that relating to the art 
of the machinist. It is in this department that the polytechnic 
school of Vi*enna is particularly strong. There can be no doubt 
that Austrian manufactures in general have received a great 
impulse through the medium of this institution, and particularly 
of its scholastic department, but while praise is yielded to the 
different courses, the arrangements for teaching chemistry must 
be considered as having a preference over the others. 

The lessons in the commercial school embrace the following 
subjects : — I. Commercial correspondence, three hours per 
week. II. The science of trade (Handelswissenschaft), three 
hours. III. Austrian laws relating to trade and exchange, 
three hours. IV. Commercial arithmetic, six hours. V". Book- 
keeping, by single and double entry, four hours. VI. Account 
of the materials of trade (Waarenkunde), their sources, uses, 
properties, kinds, adulterations to which they are subject, &.C., 
four hours. VII. Commercial geography, three hours. VIII. 
History of commerce, three hours. There are five professors 
in this schook 



588 GENERAL EDUCATION. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

Once a week the professors of the institute meet, under the 
presidency of the director, to confer on the business of the in- 
stitution. Saturday is appropriated in part to this purpose, and 
there are no exercises for the students on that day. One of 
the professors is secretary of the Board. The professors rank 
by regulation with those of the universities. 

Tlie lectures last from October to August of every year. At 
the close of them, a pupil who wishes a certificate in any 
branch, presents himself, and is examined by a professor, in 
presence of the director and of two members of the imperial 
commission of studies. A student who has attended the lec- 
tures, and does not wish to be examined, may receive a certi- 
ficate of attendance. 

To supply the place of a regular division of studies for dif- 
ferent callings, one of the earlier programmes contained a re- 
commendation of certain courses of study as preparatory to 
particular occupations. The recommendations were the follow- 
ing: — For tradesmen, the two years of the real school, and one 
year of the commercial school; or for a more complete educa- 
tion, an additional year, embracing the courses of chemistry, 
physics, and technology of the technical school. For dyers, 
printers in stufls, bleachers, manufacturers of chemical products, 
of salt, of saltpetre, for miners, metallurgists, brewers, &c. — 
special chemistry, physics, and technology, with some of the 
courses of the commercial school. For machinists, hydraulic 
engineers, mill-wrights, foremen in manufactories, and mining 
engineers — a course of two years was recommended, the first 
to embrace mathematics, physics, and drawing, and the second, 
mechanics, machine-drawing, and technology. As a prepara- 
tion for agriculturalists and foresters — courses of mathematics, 
physics, practical geometry, chemistry, and book-keeping. For 
miners — mathematics, physics, practical geometry, mechanics, 
drawing, and book-keeping. For surveyors — mathematics, 
physics, practical geometry, drawing, and book-keeping. 

There is still a regular course laid down for architects and 
civil engineers, the satisfactory completion of which entitles to 
a diploma. The first year includes elementary mathematics, 



SCHOOL OF MINES OF SAXONY. 589 

technology, and drawing; the second, higher mathematics, 
physics, and drawing; the third, the appHed mathematics, me- 
chanics, practical geometry, and drawing; the fourth, archi- 
tecture, engineering, drawing, technology, chemistry, and book- 
keeping. 

The library of the institute is appropriated to the several 
departments, and is used by the students, as well as by the pro- 
fessors. Yearly appropriations, besides the entrance and diplo- 
ma fees, are devoted to its increase. The professors have the 
right of recommending such works to be purchased as they 
may deem of use in their departments. An annual is published 
by the institute, consisting of original and selected scientific 
articles, by the professors, and notices of the institution. 

SAXON SCHOOL OP MINES AT FREYBITRG. 

This celebrated school is in one of the richest mining districts 
of Saxony, and the proximity of the mines permits an easy com- 
bination of practice with theory. Its first object is to furnish 
educated young men for the corps of mines of the kingdom, 
but it also admits strangers to its courses at a trifling expense 
for their instruction, the pupils boarding in the town. 

General government. The school of mines is under the imme- 
diate government of the directory of mines (oberbergamt), and 
is thus a bvanch of the ministry of finance. The professors 
form a Board for the execution of the general regulations, and 
one of them is specially charged by the directory with the 
superintendence of the instruction and discipline. 

Admission. Applications for free admission to the institution 
are made to the directory of mines, and must be accompanied 
by certificates that the applicant is between sixteen and twenty- 
three years of age, is of good moral character, in sound health, 
writes German correctly, and understands the grammar of the 
language ; has made some proficiency in geography and history, 
can read easy Latin authors, is acquainted with arithmetic, the 
elements of geometry, and has made a beginning in drawing. 
If he understands the French or English language, it is a re- 
commendation. The testimonials must be handed between the 



590 GENERAL EDUCATION. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

months of January and June, and the directory decide which 
of the applicants may present themselves for examination be- 
fore the professors of the school. Those found qualified in all 
the courses enter, and others may, in particular cases, be allowed 
to join the classes, undergoing subsequently an examination in 
the studies on which they were defective. According to an edict 
of the German diet, in regard to the attendance of foreigners 
upon the scholastic institutions of any of the German states, 
strangers must apply to the minister of finance for permission 
to attend the school and present a testimonial of character and 
proficiency, and the written expression of their parents' wish 
that they should attend the school. Admission is, however, 
freely granted. Those pupils M'ho are in part, or entirely, sup- 
ported by the government, are divided into two classes. The 
first division includes the regular students, called beneficiaries 
(beneficianten), who pass through a course of four years at the 
school, and become candidates for the corps of mines; the other 
is composed of those who enter for places not requiring more 
than one or two years of study, or who have passed a superior 
examination for admission, but cannot enter as regular students, 
in consequence of the want of a vacancy in the corps. Besides 
these there are two other divisions, namely, Saxons, who pay 
their own expenses at the school, and foreigners. These difl'erent 
divisions arc distinguished by characteristic diflerences in the 
uniform which they wear. The gratuitously educated students 
come under an obligation at entering, in event of leaving the 
service of the government, to refund the pay which they may 
have received, and to pay the cost of their tuition. The regular 
pupils receive a pay proportioned in general to the length of 
time which they have been in the school. The first class re- 
ceives from twenty-two to thirty dollars per annum; the second, 
from fifteen to twenty-two; the third, from seven to fifteen. 
The fourth class receive only the compensation to which they 
may be entitled for their work in the mines. In 1837-8 there 
were in the school nineteen regular pupils, eighteen extra pupils, 
and others admitted gratis, two Saxon pay pupils, and eighteen 
foreigners, making a total of fifty-seven. Of the foreigners, five 



SCHOOL OF MINES OF SAXONY. 592 

were Russians, two South Americans, and two Englishmen. 
This school is essentially diflcrcnt in its organization from the 
school of mines of France. The latter institution is supplemen- 
tary to the polytechnic school, furnishing the special instruc- 
tion required by the candidates for the corps of mines who have 
passed through the general courses of the pol^^tcchnic school. 
The Saxon school begins at a lower level in attainment than 
the polytechnic school, and instructs future miners only, the 
special object being never lost sight of throughout the student's 
career. In the opportunities for practice, it resembles more 
nearly the miners' school of St. Etienne than the school of mines 
at Paris; while, then, the courses of instruction here have neces- 
sarily many points of resemblance to those of the polytechnic 
school and the school of mines of France, an acquaintance 
with these institutions would not serve at all as a guide to the 
arrangements of the Saxon school. 

Instruction. The courses of instruction are divided into those 
which are to be pursued by all the pupils, or general, and those 
which depend upon the branch to M'hich they intend devoting 
themselves, or special. The first consist of elementary, higher, 
and applied or mixed mathematics, mechanics and the ma- 
chinery of mines, general, analytical, and special or technical 
chemistry, physics, drawing, general and topographical, of 
shades, shadows, and perspective, and of mining implements, of 
mining and metallurgic machines and constructions, oryctog- 
nosy (mineralogy), geognosy (geology), crystallography the 
art of mining, metallurgy, civil engineering, mining jurispru- 
dence and correspondence, the French language. The second 
or special courses consist of the surveying of mines and land 
surveying, the keeping of books, registers, &c., of fossil geology, 
for those who are intended as miners, and of the examination 
of minerals, and analytical chemistry, with special reference to 
the ores of Saxony, for those who are to serve at the furnaces. 

These courses are pursued by the regular students according 
to the following plan: — The first year is devoted to elementary 
mathematics, to physics, to geognosy, to general and topogra- 
phical drawing, to French, and to general practical operations 



692 GENERAL EDUCATION. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

of mining and metallurgy. All these pupils are allowed at cer- 
tain times to be present in the mines and at the furnaces, under 
the charge of miners and smelters, who act as instructors, and 
who report at the end of the year upon the character of their 
pupils. 

During the second year, the courses pursued are — higher 
mathematics, general chemistry, mineralogy, with practical ex- 
ercises, crystallography, the art of mining, civil engineering, 
drawing, French, practical mining, and geological exercises. 

After this year the student determines whether he will devote 
himself to mining or metallurgy, and receives special instruction 
accordingly. 

The general courses of the third year are — applied mathe- 
tics, the art of mining, analytical chemistry, metallurgy, tech- 
nical chemistry, drawing, practical exercises in mining and me- 
tallurgy, geology, with practical exercises, and fossil geology. 

The courses of the fourth year are — machinery of mines, 
theory and practice, mining jurisprudence, examination of mi- 
nerals, analytical chemistry, and practical exercises of mining 
and metallurgy. During this year, the pupils who intend devoting 
themselves specially to mining attend solely to practice in that 
branch, and thus also with the metallurgists. The particular 
operation in which they engage is regulated by the lectures, 
that the practice of each operation may be acquired at the same 
time with its theory. 

In relation to the amount of study to be pursued, the govern- 
ment pupils are divided into three classes, those who aim at 
entire quaUfication for the corps, and who, on graduating at the 
school, go to the university for one year, and those who intend 
to connect themselves with the department of metallurg}'. 

Among the apparatus for carrying out these courses is an 
admirable collection of models of machines and of mines. Tlie 
collection of minerals and geological specimens is large, and 
besides that of the school, the students have the use of the ca- 
binet of the celebrated Werner, which is kept detached from the 
other as a memorial of that great man. The library and reading- 
room, the collection of physical and chemical apparatus, and 



SCHOOL or MINES OF SAXONY. 593 

the arrangements for the study of analytical chemistry, and the 
assay of minerals and ores, are all suitable to their several ob- 
jects. The course of assaying with the blow-pipe has become 
quite celebrated. 

The lectures are continued from October to July, with holi- 
days of from one to two weeks at Christmas, Easter, and Whit- 
suntide. During the summer vacations, the regular pupils make 
excursions into the other mining districts of Saxony, and even 
into foreign countries, for their improvement in mining, geology, 
&c., and are expected to keep a journal of their tours. The 
short vacations are employed at the school in practical exer- 
cises and in literary composition, unless leave of absence is ob- 
tained. There is also one day of each week on which there are 
no lessons (Monday), to allow the pupils to take part both in 
the mining and smelting operations of the district of Freyburg. 

There are eight professors and five teachers attached to the 
school, among whom the diflerent departments are divided 
according to the following plan, in which the number of 
lectures per week is also noted: — One professor has charge of 
the three departments of general and technical chemistry and 
of metallurgy, lecturing on the first, five hours, on the second, 
three hours, and on the third, three hours. The professor of 
theoretical and practical mineralogy lectures on the theory for 
students of the first and second courses, each three times a 
week; gives a repetition of one hour, and practical exercises 
two hours per week. The professor of geology and crystal- 
lography lectures on the first, five hours, and on the second, 
two hours per week. The professor of physics and fossil geo- 
logy* lectures on the first, four hours, and on the second, two 
hours per week. The professor of the elementary and higher 
mathematics gives instruction in the first, four hours, and in 
the second, two hours per week. The professor of mining 
jurisprudence and correspondence gives two lessons per week 
to each of his two classes. Mixed mathematics, mining ma- 



* Professor Reich, to whom I am indebted for a copy in MS. of the regulations 
of the school. 

75 



594 GENERAL EDUCATION. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

chinery, and general surveying, are under one professor, who 
teaches the first and second, four hours, and the thh'd, two 
hours per week. Mining surveying is taught by a surveyor of 
the corps two hours per week. Drawing and civil architec- 
ture by an instructor, the former, six hours, and the latter, three 
hours per week. Registry is taught by a superintendent of 
mines. The assay of minerals by an overview er, five hours per 
w'eek. The teacher of French gives four hours of instruction 
per week. 

The subjects are in general taught by lectures, combined with 
interrogation after each lecture, and, when the courses admit, 
with practical exercises. Thcpupils are expected to write out a 
fair copy of their notes, and to keep a journal of their practical 
exercises; these are from time to time, with the essays which they 
are directed to write, submitted to the professors, and are pre- 
sented at the examinations. The subject of each recitation, the 
character of the pupils' answers, and of the exercises, drawings, 
and journals, are reported to the directory of mines by the pro- 
fessors. At the close of each of the four years there is an exa- 
mination of the students in the several branches, and they are 
classified according to its results, and the estimate of their work 
during the year. Students who do not pass satisfactorily, remain 
an additional year in tiie same class, after which, if they are 
not found proficient, they are dismissed. These remarks apply 
of course only to the regular students. There are three prizes 
for proficiency in the upper classes, and two in the fourth, vary- 
ing in amount from two up to twenty florins (eighty cents to eight 
dollars). 

Graduation. Graduates of the school are candidates for the 
corps of mines, and receive the pay of this grade until appointed 
in the corps. Permission may be obtained to go to a university 
for one year, after graduating, in which case the candidate, on 
his return to duty, must show satisfactory certificates of study 
and conduct. This study of one year at a universitj' is essential 
to certain situations in tiic corps, and hence is expected from 
those who intend to have the whole career open before them. 

Discipline. The discipline of the school is regulated by laws 



AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTE OF WURTEMBERG. 595 

emanating from the directory of mines, and which are very mi- 
nute. All the pupils, without distinction, are subject to these 
regulations. The means of repressive discipline consist of ad- 
monitions of various grades, report to the directory, mention in 
the report to the king, obligatory work in the mines, depriva- 
tion of pay, and dismission. 

This school, from the character of its officers, government, 
instruction, and location, offers great inducements to students 
who wish to become adepts in the principles of mining and me- 
tallurgy, and the sciences introductory to them. 

INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY AT HOHENHEIM, 
NEAR STUTTGARD. 

This is the most complete agricultural school in Europe, and 
extends its usefulness not only throughout, but beyond, Wurtem- 
berg. It'was established in 1817, by the Agricultural Society 
of Wurtemberg, under the patronage of the king, who devoted 
a royal seat, with extensive buildings, to the purposes of the in- 
stitution. The farm includes nearly one thousand acres, exclu- 
sively appropriated to the support of the school, or the practical 
instruction of the pupils. In 1820 the school of forestry was 
united with this, and the pupils now follow, in part, the same 
courses. 

The entire institution is divided into two "Hepartments, one of 
which is intended to give a higher general and practical educa- 
tion than the other. In the higher, the object is less the acquisi- 
tion of manual dexterity in the operations of agriculture, than 
the knowledge required to superintend them ; while in the lower, 
the practice is the principal end. The latter department ranks 
with the rural schools of Switzerland and the agricultural school 
of Templemoyle, in Ireland, already described. In the higher 
school, all the pupils are expected to pay for their education. In 
the lower, natives of Wurtemberg are admitted gratis, if their 
circumstances require it. Foreigners may be admitted to either; 
their payments being, however, on a much higher scale than 
those of natives.* 

• For the yearly courses at 'tlie higher school natives pay forty dollars, and fo- 



596 GENERAL EDUCATION. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

The direction of the establishment is delegated by the Agri- 
cultural Society to a director and treasurer, the former of whom 
has the general superintendence of all the concerns of the insti- 
tution, while the latter is responsible for its financial state to the 
society and to the royal exchequer. The director is also an 
instructor. There are, besides, four regular or ordinary pro- 
fessors, and four extraordinary professors, besides an overseer 
and steward, for the management of the farm and domestic eco- 
nomy. The treasurer has a book-keeper and an assistant in his 
department. 

Pupils are admitted at seventeen years of age, and are ex- 
pected to possess elementary attainments necessary to the pro- 
secution of the courses of the school. Between 1820 and 1836, 
one hundred and eighty natives and one hundred and eighty- 
two foreigners have been educated in agriculture, and one hun- 
dred and forty-seven natives and one hundred and seventy- 
seven foreigners in forestry, making a total of five hundred and 
thirty-nine in the institution. The number of pupils in the higher 
school in 1836 was seventy-two. That in the lower school is 
limited to twenty-seven. 

The pupils of the lower school, in general, come under obliga- 
tions to remain three years at the institution, in consideration of 
which their payments for instruction are diminished, in part, in 
the second year, and cease in the third. They are engaged in 
the operations of the farm, the garden, and other parts of the 
establishment, wdiich will be hereafter enumerated, under the 
direction of the workmen, and under the superintendence of the 
steward, their time being so distributed that they may acquire 
practice in the various operations of farming. They are also 
required to attend certain of the lectures given to the higher 
classes, and receive instruction at times when they are not en- 
gaged in agricultural labour. They receive regular wages for 
work done, from which they are expected to pay for their main- 
tenance and clothing. Premiums are given to those who dis- 

reigners one hundred and twenty dollars. For instruction in forestry only, a na- 
tive pays twenty-four dollars, and a stranger seventy-two dollars. For the three 
years instruction in the lower school, natives pay forty dollars. 



AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTE OF WURTEMBERG. 597 

play great skill and industry. While in the house, the younger 
pupils are under the charge of the elder ones, and all are under 
the general superintendence of the overseer. The same super- 
intendence exists in the refectory and dormitories. It subserves 
the double purpose of economy, and of training the elder pupils 
in the management of men, which is one object of their educa- 
tion. The institution undertakes to find places for those pupils 
who have given satisfaction while in the school, on their com- 
pleting its courses. 

The agricultural course of the higher school may be accom- 
plished in one year, if the preliminary studies of the pupil have 
been directed with a view to his entering, but in general it re- 
quires two years. The same period of two years is required 
for that of forestry. Each scholastic year has tw^o sessions, the 
one from the first of November to Palm-Sunday, and the other 
from two weeks after Palm-Sunday to the first of October. 
The intermediate periods are vacations. 

The branches of special theoretical instruction are as fol- 
lows : 

First : Agriculture. General principles of farming and borticulture, in- 
cluding the culture of the vine. The breeding of cattle. Growing of wool. 
Raising of horses. Rearing of silk-worms. Arrangement and direction of farms. 
Estimation of the value of farms. Book-keeping. 

Second : Forestry. Encyclopedia of Forestry. Botany of forests. Culture 
and superintendence of forests. Guard of forests. Hunting. Taxation. Uses of 
forests. Technology. Laws and regulations, accounts, and technical corres- 
pondence relating to forests. 

Third : Accessary branches. Veterinary art. Agricultural technology, espe- 
cially the manufacture of beet sugar, brewing, vinegar making, and distilling. 
The construction of roads and hydraulic works. 

Besides these special branches, the following general courses 
are pursued: 

First: The Natural Sciences. Geology. Physiology of plants. Botany, as 
apphed to agriculture and forestry. Natural history of animals beneficial or 
noxious to plants and trees. General chemistry, and its applications to agricul- 
ture. Physics and meteorology. 

Second : Mathematics. Theoretical and practical. Geometry. Elements of 
trigonometry. Arithmetic. Elements of algebra. 



598 GENERAL EDUCATION'. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

The institution possesses the most ample means for the illus- 
tration of these courses in its farm and collections. The farm 
is divided into arable land, about five hundred and one acres; 
meadow land, two hundred and forty-two acres; fields set apart 
for experiments, thirty-three acres; woodland, thirteen acres; 
nursery, sixty-seven acres; plantation of hops, two acres; bo- 
tanical garden, fourteen acres; ground for exercising the pupils 
in ploughing, two acres; garden, one acre; the remainder, 
eighty-five acres. Total, nine hundred and sixty acres. The 
arable land is cultivated according to five different rotations of 
crops, that the pupils may have specimens of the varieties of 
system. The botanical garden, nursery, and experimental farm, 
are prominent parts of the establishment. There is a large 
stock of cattle of difierent kinds, foreign and domestic, and of 
sheep, that the pupils may acquire practical knowledge of the 
relative advantages of different breeds, the mode of taking care 
of the stock generally, and of rearing them for difl'erent pur- 
poses. Horses are kept for a riding-school, as well as for the 
purposes of the farm. The institution has a large collection of 
agricultural implements in use in Wurtemberg, and of models 
of the varieties of foreign and new implements. These are 
made in a work-shop attached to the school, and afford practice 
in the manufacture to the pupils, as well as instruction by their 
use or inspection, with the explanations of the professors. The 
sale of these implements and models also contributes to the sup- 
port of the establishment. There are two collections of seeds 
and grain — one as specimens for illustrating the lectures, the 
other in quantities for sale. The pupils learn the mode of 
preserving them, and useful seeds are distributed through the 
country. There is a collection of soils of all kinds for the lec- 
tures on terra-culture and the analysis of soils, with specimens 
of the means of amelioration used in different cases. The col- 
lections of natural history, though small, are interesting, from the 
precise adaptation of the specimens to the objects of the school. 
They consist of birds, beasts, and insects, and of plants, woods, 
and rocks. The woods are arranged in the form of a library, 



AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTE OF WURTEMBERG. 599 

the separate specimens having the forms of books given to them, 
and being covered in part with the barlv. The name is inscribed 
upon the back. Cross and longitudinal sections are usually found 
in the same book, forming the covers. Between the covers is 
a box containing the seeds and flowers of the tree, the parasites, 
&c., and a description. There is a small collection of physical 
apparatus, a library, and a laboratory. The following farming 
and technological establishments are connected with the school, 
and worked by the pupils, under the charge of the teachers: 
namely, a cider-press and appurtenances; a beet-sugar manu- 
factory, a brewery, a distillery, and a vinegar manufactory. 
Though I saw better individual collections than these, the whole 
suite stands unrivalled, as far as my examination extended. 

Examinations take place every year, which are obligatory 
upon those forestry pupils who intend to enter the service of 
the government; strangers are not required to be examined. 
Persons wishing to learn the details of the institution, may be 
received as visitors for a period not exceeding a month, living 
with the pupils. 

Each pupil in the higher school has his own sleeping-room; 
or, at most, two room together. They bring their supplies of 
clothing, &c. at entrance. The rooms are kept in order by 
the servants, who receive a small compensation from the pupil. 
They take their dinnei' and supper in a common hall, and order 
what they please for breakfast from the steward's assistant.* 
This institution has supported itself for several years, which is 
readily to be understood from the scale of its farming operations. 
The success of the farm does not depend exclusively upon the 
productive manual labour of the pupils. It is analogous to the 
support of a family on a large estate, the members of the family 
aiding in the work, and contributing also in money to their own 
support, but the working of the farm not depending entirely 
upon their manual exertions. 



* The dinner and supper cost four dollars a month, which is paid in advance 
to the steward. 



600 GENERAL EDUCATION. SUPERIOR PERIOD. 

NAVAL SCHOOL OF AUSTRIA, AT VENICE. 

This institution is for youths intending to enter the naval ser- 
vice of the empire. They are received at about fourteen years 
of age, and may pass through the five classes composing the 
school in as many years. They are then appointed in the navy, 
as vacancies occur. The school is superintended by a naval 
officer, whose rank is that of captain of a frigate. The pro- 
fessors and other officers are in general from the same service, 
though some of the former are citizens. 

The general course of instruction is as follows : — Religious 
instruction, mathematics, Italian, German, French and Eng- 
lish languages, geography, history, writing, and drawing. The 
special courses are — of maritime law, the law of quarantine, 
epistolary correspondence, the science of artillery, and naval 
tactics and construction. There are regular exercises in naval 
manoeuvres, rigging, &c., and in infantry tactics, in land and 
hydrographical surveying, and in fencing. The course of 
mathematics includes both pure and mixed mathematics; name- 
ly, arithmetic and algebra, geometry, plane and spherical tri- 
gonometry, the appKcation of algebra to geometry, conic 
sections, the differential and integral calculus, hydrographic 
surveying, projections, nautical astronomy, ship-building, me- 
chanics, and physics. The following table shows the distribu- 
tion of time among the different subjects of study in the five 
classes, of which the fifth class is the highest : 



NAVAL SCHOOL AT VEIVICE. 



601 



Distribution of time at the Naval School of Austria, at Venice. 



SUBJECTS 

OF 

INSTRUCTION. 



Mathematics, 

Italian, ........ 

German, 

French, 

English, .....--• 
Religious Instruction, - - • 

Geography, 

History, 

Maritime and Quarantine Law, 

Epistolary Style, 

Artillery, • - 

Naval Tactics, &c., .... 

Drawing, - 

Writing, 

Infantry Drill, 

Practical Exercises, . - . - 
Hydrographical Surveying, &c.. 

Totals, - 



HOURS PER WEEK. 



16J 



33J 



15J 



34J 



16J 

2 
1 

1 
1 
1 
1 



33i 



m 

2 
2 
2 

1 

1 



30i 



m 

3 
1 



m 



73 J 

5 

8 

4 

3 

5 

5 

4 

3 

1 

3 

1 
23 
10 

9 

5 

2 



The following is the order of the day during the summer for 

secular days, exclusive of Thursday: — The pupils rise at six, 

A. M. An hour is allowed for police and mass; half an hour for 

breakfast. From half past seven to half past eleven they are in 

76 



602 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 

school. There is then an intermission of half an hour. Dinner 
at twelve, and recreation until one, P. M. Study from one to 
two, P. M. School from two to five. Recreation from five to 
six. Prayers from six to half past six. Study from half past 
six to nine, and recreation from nine to half past nine, and retire. 
On Thursday they rise at half past six, are engaged in police, 
mass, and breakfast, until eight. The regulations are read. 
Study and religious instruction occupy them from nine until half 
past eleven. Recreation until twelve. Dine, and have recrea- 
tion until two. Are occupied with religious instruction and 
study until five. The other arrangements of the day are as 
above stated. On Sundays and holidays the inspector visits the 
rooms at eight, A. M. Mass and biblical explanations occupy 
until nine. There is then a visit of inspection from the director. 
Study from ten to eleven. Recreation until twelve. Dinner 
and recreation. 



CONCLUDING REMARKS. 

I HAVE now completed the design of giving such an account 
of the state of public institutions for education as may enable 
the Trustees of the Girard College to examine, by the light of 
experience, the plan which it has been made my duty, at a fu- 
ture time, to present to them for that institution. In so doing, 
I have endeavoured to confine my remarks and suggestions 
within the limits which a strict induction from facts would war- 
rant. Having, however, been obliged to make a selection from 
the materials accumulated during the tour made by the direction 
of the trustees, I am conscious that all the facts collected are 
by no means presented. Indeed, a very close selection has 
been requisite to confine this document within any reasonable 
limits. Again, I am aware that the character of a report does 
not permit that entire freedom of expression which, in many 
cases, is desirable; and hence my impressions of many schools 
here described have a vividness which the report on them by 



OONCLUDING REMARKS. 603 

no means faithfully represents. To supply these defects, as 
well as errors of judgment in my selections, I have made an 
arrangement of all the documents collected in relation to the 
schools visited, by which any one can be immediately found, 
or the whole examined. The translations of documents from 
foreign languages into English have been similarly arranged, 
the more important ones having been transcribed, to render 
them easily legible. My private journal relating to these same 
institutions has, generally, in like manner, been transcribed and 
classed with the other sources of information. The papers so 
arranged will be placed in the College library, and will afford 
the trustees not only the means of appealing to experiment upon 
doubtful points, but of comparing hereafter our own institution, 
or others of our country, with kindred establishments abroad. 
In order to enable the Board to know exactly what are the 
documents collected which bear particularly upon our objects, 
I intend to present a list of them* in the Appendix to this Re- 
port. This will enable me at the same time to designate the 
names of those gentlemen to whom I am indebted for the docu- 
ments, and to thank them for this and other kind offices, by 
which I was constantly cheered on my way. In the Appendix 
will be found, also, some useful references, which could not 
appropriately be embodied in the Report — such as general 
tables of occupation and diet in diflerent institutions; remarks 
of some eminent teachers upon the science which they have 
contributed to advance; lists of books used in certain schools; 
and other miscellaneous matter connected with the Report. 

I proceed to accomplish, as briefly as possible, the remaining 
part of my duty, namely, to give an account of the manner of 
executing my instructions in regard to the purchase of books and 
apparatus. As directed, I confined my purchases of books, with 
few exceptions, to works on education, or on kindred subjects, to 
text-books, to such as were in use with advantage as books for 
the libraries of primary schools, to school-engravings, ordinary 



• This list is exclusive of documents relating to the education of the deaf and 
dumb, of the blind, of juvenile delinquents, and to miscellaneous matters. 



604 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 

maps, and maps in relief. In these departments I purchased 
works in different languages, that translations might be made 
of those which it might be deemed expedient to introduce into 
the school, selecting according to such an examination as I 
could give at the time, or by the judgment of those in whom I 
had confidence. I also procured the stock-catalogues of works 
published in different countries, within a few years, or of older 
works, and made arrangements to have those of the new works 
transmitted to the institution. The Board are aware that valu- 
able presents of engravings, maps, and books, were made to the 
Girard College; among them the splendid work of model en- 
gravings for mechanics, presented by the Royal Technical 
Commission of Prussia, through the president, M. Beuth ; the 
maps of the survey of India, presented by the surveyor-general of 
India, Major Jcrvis; the maps and school manuals, presented by 
the Board of Commissioners of National Education for Ireland; 
the collection of school books in use in the elementary schools of 
Holland, presented by Director Prinsen, of Haarlem; and the 
books relating to the arts, by M. De Moleon, of Paris. I have 
also placed in the library the various works relating to education 
and kindred subjects, which I received from their authors, 
considering that they were presented to me rather as the repre- 
sentative of the Girard College than as an individual; and that 
they may thus be rendered more useful than if I had retained them 
with my own books. The works thus brought together form 
a nucleus for the educational department of our library, and to 
the accomplishment of such an object my views were very pro- 
perly limited by the scholastic committee. They are contribu- 
tions towards a collection which will be necessary to aid the 
studies of our pupils and teachers, and which is referred to in 
his Will by our founder. 

In regard to apparatus and models, my purchases have con- 
sisted, first, of such as must be required in the lower departments 
of the College, and which were new, or could not be so readily 
procured at home. Second, of some articles of the best appa- 
ratus, for illustrations in mechanics and physics, from different 
makers, to serve as specimens of the quality of their work, and 



CONCLUDING REMARKS. 605 

« 

of the grade of apparatus which seemed to me suitable for the 
collections of the College. In connexion with these, I have an 
extensive series of printed and written catalogues of apparatus, 
with their prices, from different parts of Europe. The speci- 
mens themselves will, I trust, incidentally, by being open to the 
inspection of our instrument-makers, promote the advancement 
of this branch of art. Third, specimens of a collection of mo- 
dels of machines, and of a technological collection, complete 
cabinets of which will be essential in the higher departments of 
the institution.* In the case of those procured at Paris, the 
Board are already aware that I had the advantage of the kind 
olRces of M. Arago, as inspector, and their acknowledgments 
have been made to him for the service rendered. Fourth, such 
instruments, of the more delicate kind, as are difficult to procure 
without personal relations with their inventors, and those who 
make them- All these classes of articles but the first are expen- 
sive, and hence my purchases have been necessarily limited in 
extent by the funds placed at my disposal. They are, however, 
merely intended as specimens, and as such, will, I trust, be 
found to answer their purpose. The difficulty of getting toge- 
ther a complete collection of books and apparatus cannot be 
too plainly insisted upon. The delays incident to it are great, 
and, though they may be lessened, cannot be avoided. 

The Board of Trustees will readily see, from the tenor of this 
Report, that my examination has not enabled me to select any 
single institution which fulfils at once the requisites of the Will 
of our founder, and of the present state of education, and which 
might, therefore, serve as a model for the Girard College for Or- 
phans. The plan to be presented to them, as far as it is derived 
from these materials, must be made up of fragments, to be so mo- 
dified as to adapt them to the peculiarities of the College, and to 
our political and social character and institutions. According 

* A quotation from the Will of Mr, Girard will serve to show that these ideas 
conform to its express directions. Among the subjects of instruction for carry, 
ing out which, he directs " books, philosophical and experimental instruments* 
and apparatus" to be provided are, — "geography, navigation, surveying, practical 
luathematics, astronomy, natural, citcmical, and experimental philosoph}'." 



606 COPTCLUDING REMARKS. _ 

to the Will of Mr. Girard, orphan boys are to be educated in his 
College from the age of six years to fourteen, sixteen, and even 
eighteen years of age. The materials of their instruction must 
be " things rather than words," and the degree is to be such 
" as the capacities of the several scholars may merit or war- 
rant." The first provision, from the early age of admission 
which it enjoins, enables us to train as well as to instruct; 
the second indicates that the tendency of our training should 
be towards practical life. The age of our pupils embraces 
the period from elementary to superior instruction, and we 
are expressly called upon to develope talent. Our College 
must, therefore, combine the primary, secondary, and special 
schools The means furnished by our munificent benefactor 
to execute his intentions are vast, and if the benefits thence 
accruing are not in proportion, the responsibility must rest 
with those to whom they have been entrusted. The trustees 
of the College have appealed to the experience of Europe 
to furnish data necessarily wanting in a new country, and it 
remains for them to apply the experimental deductions thus ob- 
tained from the old world with the vigour characteristic of the 
new. If their spirit be proportionate to the work to be accom- 
plished, there can be little doubt of the result. Our founder has 
furnished them the means of establishing a series of model 
schools for moral, intellectual, and physical education, embra- 
cing the period of life from early youth almost to manhood, the 
importance of which to our city, and even to the country at 
large, can hardly be estimated. 

Respectfully submitted, by 

A. D. BACHE, 

President of the Girard College 

for Orphans. 
Philadelphia, May 1, 1839, 



it 



APPENDIX 






APPENDIX. 



The following Appendix contains the titles of the documents relating to edu- 
cation in general, collected during a tour of two years through some of the 
principal countries of Europe, besides miscellaneous matter, which could not be 
appropriately embodied in the foregoing Report, but which, nevertheless, is of 
interest, as illustrating particular parts of it. The articles of the Appendix have 
been referred to by their numbers in the course of the Report, and they will 
now be preceded by a statement of the pages of the Report, where the references 
are to be found. 



No. J. 

Referred to on pages 9, 14, and 603, 

The titles of the different documents relating to general education will be 
found in the following pages, classed in the order of the countries where they 
were procured. Not to make this list too long, I have been obliged to confine it 
to documents relating to instruction in general, omitting those from the schools 
of the deaf and dumb, and the blind, and from houses of refuge for juvenile delin- 
quents. Works on education, or on particular departments of it, or methods, are, 
also, in general, not included in it. The documents are arranged in the follow- 
ing order: — first, those of Great Britain, subdivided into England, Ireland, and 
Scotland; next, those of France, then of Switzerland, of Belgium, Holland, Ger- 
many, and Italy. The German and Italian states and Swiss cantons are classed 
alphabetically, and the same is the case with the different places in the various 
countries, the documents relating to which are sufficiently numerous to require 
any formal classification. In the several divisions the articles are arranged ac- 
cording to the plan adopted in the Report, namely, the eleemosynary institutions 
first, then the infant, primary, secondary, and superior schools; institutions for 
adult instruction are placed last. When the documents refer to education in a 
country at large, they are usually placed first on the list. 

The chief part of these papers were presented to me by the gentlemen whose 
names are attached to them, and I beg leave here to return to them, as well as 
to others who were so kind as to further the objects of my journey, my most 
sincere thanks. 

77 



610 APPENDIX. 

ENGLAND. 

1. Abstracts of the answers and returns made pursuant to an address of the 
House of Commons, May 24th, 1833. Vol. I., Bedford, Lancaster; Vol. II., 
Leicester. Suffolk; Vol. III., Surrey, Radnor. 1835. 

2. Report from the Select Committee on tlie State of Education, with the 
Minutes of Evidence and Index. August 7th, 1834. 

3. Report from the Select Committee on Education in England and Wales, 
together with the Minutes of Evidence, Appendix, and Index. August 3d, 1835. 

4. Report from the Select Coinmiltcc on Education of the Poorer Classes in 
England and Wales, together with the Minutes of Evidence and Index. 13 July, 
1838. 

5. A bill intituled, " An Act for Promoting Education and Regulating Chari- 
ties, presented by Lord Brougham and Vaux, 2d February, 1837." (From W. 
Holl, Esq.) 

6. Prospectus of the Central Society of Education in London. 

BIRMINGHA3I. 

1. A short account of the Blue-coat Charity School in Birmingham, from its 
institution in 1724, to 1830, and list of subscribers, &c. (From the head Master.) 

2. Memorandum of the diet of the children of the Blue-coat School in Bir- 
mingham, MS. (From the same.) 

3. List of Text-books used in the Grammar School of King Edward VI. (From 
the Rev. Dr. Jeune.) 

4. Proposed changes in the system of the scliool of King Edward VI., 1837. 

5. Prospectus of the Birmingham and Edgbaston Proprietary Day School, 1837. 
(From Mr. J. C. Barlow.) 

6. Rules and Regulations of the Birmingham and Edgbaston Proprietary Day 
School, established in 1837. (From the same.) 

7. Report and Resolutions passed at the first annual general meeting of the 
Proprietors of the Birmingham and Edgbaston Proprietary School, in 1838. 
(From the same.) 

8. List of the Secretaries of Proprietary Schools in England, MS. (From the 
same.) 

BRISTOL. 

1. Duties of the boys of Colston's Hospital, in Bristol, 1838. (From the Master.) 

2. Prospectus of Bristol College, 1838. 

CAMBRIDGE. 

1. Collections of Examination Papers, &c. (From Professor Peacock, Pro- 
fessor Miller, Mr. Thurtell, Mr. Stokes, and Mr. Mayer.) 

2. List of the principal Text-books used in the colleges at Cambridge, MS. 

CHESTER. 

1. Rules to be observed by parents whose sons are admitted day-scholars or 
green-caps, in the Blue-coat Hospital, in Chester. (From the Master.) 

2. The Annual Report of the Blue-coat Hospital, in Chester, for 1836. (From 
the same.) 



DOCUMENTS FROM GREAT BRITAIN. 611 

DURHAM. 

Education of Students in Civil Engineering and Mining in the University of 
Durham, 1838. (From Professor J. F. W. Johnson.) 

XEEDS. 

Prospectus of Leeds Infant School Society, 1836. 

LIVERPOOL. 

1. The Annual Report of the Blue-coat Hospital, in Liverpool, for 1835, MS. 
Replies to Queries, MS. Rules of Entrance. Form of Indenture. Plan of In- 
struction. Forms for Teachers' Reports. Weekly Consumption of Provisions, 
&c. (From Mr. Samuel Dickens, assistant master, and James Aspinall, Esq., 
honorary treasurer.) 

2. A full report of the Speeches and Proceedings at a meeting for the Promotion 
of Scriptural Education in Liverpool, held July 13, 1836. 

3. Plan of Instruction at Mr. Charles Voelcker's school at St. Domingo-House, 
Everton, near Liverpool, 1837, MS. 

LOIs^DOJ*. 

1. A Description of the London Orphan Asylum for the reception and educa- 
tion of Destitute Orphans, particularly those descended from respectable parents, 
instituted July 27, 1813, 1836. (From the Rev. Mr. Reed.) 

2. By-laws of the London Orphan Asylum. (From the same.) 

3. Plan of Education of the London Orphan Asylum in Clapton. (From the 
same.) 

4. Report of the London Orphan Asylum, read at the general annual meeting, 
January 23, 1S37, (From the same.) 

5. Gross expense and average number of Children of the London Orphan 
Asylum, from 1831 to 1836. (From the same.) 

6. Election List for 23d January, 1837, of the London Orphan Asylum. (From 
the same.) 

7. Description of sundry works, intended to be done for the Managers of the 
London Orphan Asylum, in b-.ilding, and completely finishing the London Or- 
phan Asylum at Clapton. (From the same.) 

8. History of Christ's Hospital. By the Rev. W. Trollope. 

9. Tlie Second Annual Report of the Home and Colonial Infant School So- 
ciety, instituted 1836, with an account of the proceedings at tlie opening of the 
Society's house, <Stc. (From J. S. Reynolds, Esq., Secretary.) 

10. Institution for the Effective Education of Youth, and also a plan of Infant 
Education for Children of the Higlicr and Middle Classes in the neighbourhood 
of Fulham, Middlesex, 1836. 

11. A Compendious Report of Proceedings and Operations in the Central 
School of the British and Foreign School Society in London, 1836 and 1837. 
(From the Secretary, Mr. Dunn.) 

12. Report of tlie National Society for Promoting the Educo-lion of the Poor on 
the Principles of the Established Church, &c. 1837. (Westminster Model 
Scliool.) (From the Secretary) 



Gl'^ APPENDIX. 

13. A Concise Description of the Endowed Grammar Schools of England and 
Wales. London, 1818. By Nicholas Carlisle. 

14. History of the Merchant Tailors' School. By the Rev. H. B. Wilson. 

15. Exercises at the Public Exhibition of St. Paul's School, May, 1837. (From 
Petty Vauglian, Esq.) 

16. Cliarter-house Examination of the Upper School, 1837. Approved books 
to be used in the Boys' School. (From the Rev. Wm. Chapman.) 

17. Prospectus of the University of London, (London University College,) and 
the University College School, 1837. 

18. Address to the Proprietors of the University of London, by J. M. Morgan, 
Esq., 1833. (From the author.) 

19. Sketch of the System of Education in practice at the Schools of Bruce- 
Castle,Tottenham, and Hazlewood, near Birmingham, 1 833. (From Mr. Arthur Hill.) 

20. Blank Forms relating to Instruction and Discipline at Dr. Biber's School, 
Coombe Wood, near London. (From Dr. Biber.) 

21. Regulations of the New University of London on the Subject of Examina- 
tions for Degrees in Arts. (From Dr. Jerrold.) 

22. Prospectus of the Gresham Lectures. London, 1837. (From Petty 
Vaughan, Esq.) 

MANCHESTER. 

1. Some account of the Blue-coat Hospital and Public Library in Manchester, 
foimded by Humphrey Cheetham, Esq., in the year 1651. (From Mr. Crossley, 
Governor.) 

2. Rules of the Blue-coat Hospital in Oldham, near Manchester. Petition for 
admission, &c. (From Mr, Barrett, IMaster.) 

3. Report of a Committee of the Manchester Statistical Society, on the State 
of Education in the borough of Manchester, in 1834. (From W. Langton, Esq.) 

4. Report of a Committee of the Manchester Statistical Society, on the State 
of Education in the Borough of Bury, Lancashire, in 1835. (From the same.) 

5. Report of a Committee of tlie Manchester Statistical Society, on the State 
of Education in the Borough of Salford, in 1835. (From the same.) 

6. Report of a Committee of the Manchester Statistical Society, on the State 
of Education in the Borough of Liverpool, 183.5-36. 

7. Forms of Queries and Replies, by the Manchester Statistical Society, in 
their Inquiries into the State of Education. (From W. Langton, Esq.) 

8. Tenth Report of the Cliorlton upon Medlock Central Infants' School So- 
ciety, 1836. (From Mr. Bailly, Teacher.) 

9. Report of the Committee of the Royal Lancastrian Free School, from 1831 
to 1835. Specimen of writing by a pupil. (From Mr. Perkins, Teacher.) 

10. Report of the Conmiittee of the Manchester and Salford New Jerusalem 
Church Free Day Schools, established in 1827, for the years 1835 and 1836. 
(From Mr. Moss, Teacher.) 

11. Fourteenth Annual Report of the London New Jerusalem Church Free 
School Society, together with the Proceedings at the Annual General Meeting, 
held at Kennington, 1836. (From the same.) 



DOCUMENTS FROM IRELAND. 613 

12. A Description of the System of Inquiry and Examination by tlie Scholars ' 
themselves, by means of Circulating Classes; submitted as an Improvement on 
the Madras System of Education, by T. Stoat, of the Islington Parochial School. 
(From the same.) 

13. A Report of the State of the Sunday Schools in Manchester and Salford, 
belonging to the Established Church, for the year 1834. 

14. Rules Adopted for the Government of Bennett Street Sunday School. 
Manchester, 1832. (From Mr. Lawrton.) 

15. The Annual Report of the Stockport Sunday School, 1836. (From Mr. 
S. E. Cottam.) 

16. Prospectus of the Courses of Education to be pursued in the Dover Street 
School. 

17. Plan of a University for the Town of Manchester, by H. L. Jones, M. A. 
(From W. Langton, Esq.) 

18. Syllabuses of Courses of Lectures on Mechanical Philosophy, Astronomy, 
Optics, Acoustics, Electricity, &c., the Steam-engine, Chemistry, Zoology, Bo- 
tany, Vegetable Physiology, Geology, &c., the Modern Languages, &c., delivered 
at the Manchester Mechanics' Institute, 1836-37. (From Mr. S. E. Cottam.) 

NEWCASTLE. 

1. The Twenty -sixth Report of the Jubilee School, and of the Improved School 
for Girls, in New Castle-upon-Tyne, 1836. (From Sheriff Nichol.) 

2. An Outline of the System of Education pursued in Mr. Bruce's Academy, 
in New Castle. (From Mr. Bruce.) 

WORKSOP. 
Prospectus of Mr. Heldenmaier's School, on the principles of Pestalozzi, at 
Worksop, Nottingham. 

- YORK. 

1. Rules of the Blue-coat Boys' and Grey-coat Girls' Charity Schools, in York, 
1829. (From the head Master.) 

2. Report of the Blue-coat Boys' and Grey-coat Girls' Charity School in York, 
established 1708, for the year 1836. (From the same.) 

IRELAND. 

1. Reports from the Select Committees on Foundation Schools and Education 
in Ireland, together with the Minutes of Evidence appended, and Index, 1835 
to 1838. 

2. Report from the Select Committee of the House of Lords, on the New Plan 
of Education in Ireland, &.C. Parts I. and II. 1837. 

BELFAST. 
1. Report of the Committee appointed to prepare a Plan of Education and 
Government for the intended Academical Institution in Belfast, 1807. (From 
Professor Stevclly.) 



G14 APPENDIX. 

2. A View of theSystem of Education in the Collegiate Department of the Royal 
Belfast Academical Institution, 1832. (From the same.) 

3. The Act of Incorporation and Byo-laws of the Belfast Academical Institu- 
tion, 1810. (From Professor Stcvclly.) 

4. Prospectus of the Belfast Academical Institution. (From the Rev. Dr. Mont- 
gomery.) 

5. Statement of the Constitution of the Belfast Academy, with an account of 
the History and Present State of the System of Education pursued in that Semi- 
nary. Founded 1785. (From the Rev, Dr. Bryce.) 

6. Prospectus and List of Books used in the Classical Course of the Aca- 
demical Institution. Questions proposed in the Mathematical Class, &c. Ca- 
talogue of the Books in the Library of the Belfast Academy. (From the same.) 

7. Sketch of a Plan for a System of National Education for Ireland, by Dr. 
R. J. Bryce. 182S. 

8. Outline of a Course of Lectures on the Science of Education, delivered in 
the London University, by the Rev. R. J. Bryce, LL. D. 1836. 

DUBLIN. 

1. Regulations for the Establishment and Government of the Royal Hibernian 
Military School for the Orphans and Children of Soldiers. Revised in 1829. 
(From Major Rowand, Commandant.) 

2. Notes on the Hibernian Society for the Crre of Soldiers' Children, (MS.) 

3. Abstract of Officers at the Hibernian School, (IMS.) 

4. Printed forms relating to the School, viz: — Form of Petition for Admission, 
comprising also a Register of Life at School. Certificate of School Distinction. 
Return of work done. Morning Report. Weekly Report and Register. Report 
of Sundries, &-c., of School. Form of Bill of Expenses. Certificate before bind, 
ing the bo3's to service. Form of Indenture made with the Governors of the 
Hibernian Soldiers' Society, 1836. (From Major Rowand.) 

5. Reports of the Committee to the Annual Meetings of the Society for Pro- 
moting the Education of the Poor of Irela a , for the years 1828, 1832, 1833, 
1834, 1835, and 1836. 

6. Reports of the Commissioners of National Education in Ireland, for the 
years 1834, 1835, and 1836. (From the Rev. Mr. Carlile.) 

7. Memorial respecting the Charity Schools connected with the Scots Church. 
(From the same.) 

LONDONDERRY. 

1. A copy of the last Will and Testament of the late Mr. John Gwyn, of Lon- 
donderry, (From the Master of Gwyn's Charity.) 

2. Committee Lists, «fec. (From the same.) 

3. Regulations for promoting Agricultural Instruction and Agricultural Em- 
ployment, and for improving the condition of tlic People of Lough Ash, by J. P. 
Kennedy. 1835. (From Captain Kennedy.) 

4. Report of the Agricultural Seminary at Templemoyle, County of London- 
derry. Established, 1827. (From Sir R. Ferguson.) 

5. Sketch of Templemoyle Farm. 



DOCUMENTS FROM SCOTLAND. 615 



SCOTLAND. 

1. Education Inquiry. Abstract of the Answers and Returns made pursuant 
to an Address of the House of Commons, in 1834. Scotland, 1837. 

2. Report from the Select Committee on the state of Education in Scotland, 
together with the proceedings of the Committee, and Appendix. 1838. 

3. Report of the Commissioners appointed for inquiring into the state of the 
Universities and Colleges of Scotland. 1839. 

ABERDEEN. 

1. Report of the Public Schools of the City of Aberdeen, 1834. (From A. 
Dingwall, Esq.) 

2. Examination of a Pamphlet entitled, "Plan of Education in the Marischal 
College and University of Aberdeen, with the reasons of it, drawn up by order of 
the faculty, 1765. 1826. (From the same.) 

EDINBURGH. 

1. A Historical Account of the Orphan Hospital of Edinburgh, 1833. (From 
J. G. Wood, Esq.) 

2. Regulations for the Orphan Hospital, 1834. (From the same.) 

3. Letter from J. G. Wood, Esq., in relation to the signification of the word 
Orphan, &,c. 

4. Form of Recommendation for Admission to the Orphan Hospital. 

5. Last Will and Testament, and Codicil thereto, of George Heriot, and the 
Original Statutes of his Hospital, by Dr. Balcanqual, 1833. (From the Rev. Hec- 
tor Holme, House-governor). 

6. An Act to explain and extend the Powers of the Governors of George Ileri- 
ot's Hospital, 1836. (From Mr. Bayly, Secretary.) 

7. Regulations for the internal management of George Heriot's Hospital, 1833. 
(From the same.) 

8. Regulations enacted by the Governors of George Heriot's Hospital, upon the 
13th October, 1834, as to the superintendence to be exercised over the boys at 
their leaving the institution and afterwards. (From the same.) 

9. Number of boys admitted into George Heriot's Hospital, from October, 
1830, to October, 1836, both inclusive. (From the same.) 

10. Tabular View of the Hours of Employment and Exercise in George Heri- 
ot's Hospital. (From the Rev, Mr. Holme.) 

11. Committees of Trustees of Heriot's Hospital, January, 1837. (From the 
same.) 

12. Tenders for the furnishing of provisions to George Heriot's Hospital. 
Form of Advertisement for Supplies. (From the same.) 

13. The Statutes and Rules of George Watson's Hospital, 1740. (From the 
Rev. Mr. Munro, House-govern6r.) 

14. Regulations for George Watson's Hospital, 1831. (From the same.) 

15. Copy of a Petition for Admission into George Watson's Hospital. (From 
the same.) 



61 G APPENDIX. 

16. List of Applicants for Admission into George Watson's Hospital, March, 
1836. (From the same.) 

17. Course of Study and Text-books used at George Watson's Hospital, Janu- 
ary, 1837, (MS.) (From the same.) Notes and Replies to Queries in reference 
to George Watson's Hospital, (MS.) (From the same.) 

18. Papers relating to John Watson's Institution for Destitute Children. 
1 , Deed of Settlement. 2. Deed of Destination of the Funds. 3. Act of Par- 
liament. 4. Regulations for Management. 5. Regulations for Master and 
Matron, 1830. (From the Rev. Mr. Marshall.) 

19. Distribution of time in John Watson's Hospital, February, 1837. (MS.) 
(From the same.) 

20. A Course of Education for the Children of John Watson's Institution, pro- 
posed to the Directors by Mr. Charles Marshall. (MS.) (From the same.) 

21. Expenses of John Watson's Hospital, 1836. 

22. Abstract of the Treasurer's Accounts with John Watson's Institution, Au- 
gust 1st, 1836. 

23. List of occupations of the parents, the pupils, and a statement whether 
the parents are dead or alive. (From the Rev. Mr. Marshall.) 

24. Regulations for the Management of Cauvin's Hospital, 1835. (From the 
Provost of Edinburgh.) 

25. Statutes of the Maiden Hospital, founded by the Company of Merchants 
of Edinburgh and Mary Erskinc, and Rules for the Government and Order of the 
Hospital, 1819. (From Mr. Jamison.) 

26. Regulations for the Merchant Maiden Hospital, 1731 . (From the same.) 

27. Remarks upon a System of Education for the Girard College, by James 
Simpson, Esq. (MS.) 

28. Third Report of the Edinburgh Intant School Society, 1838. (From Mr. 
Milne.) 

29. Hints for Lessons on IVIoral Training, Grammatical Exercises, &c., for In- 
fant Schools, (MS.) (From the sauie.) 

30. Report of the General Assembly's Education Committee, for the years 
1833-34-35. (From Jo])n Gordon, Esq.) 

31. Eleventh Report of the Directors of the Circus-Place School, 1837. (From 
the Rev. Dr. Reid.) 

32. Annual Report by the Directors of the Edinburgh Acadsmy, for the years 
1835-36. (From Rector Williams.) 

33. List of Text-books used in the High School of Edinburgh, (MS.) 

34. Course of Studies of the Hill Street Association for Languages, Mathema- 
tics, &c. (From Mr. Cunningham.) 

35. Report on Mr. Cunningham's Institution for Languages, Mathematics, &c 
1835. (From the same.) 

36. Prospectus of the Edinburgh Southern Academy. (From Mr. Gunn.) 

37. Prospectus of the Scottish Institution for the Education of Young Ladies. 
(From Dr. D. B. Reid.) 

38. Course of Studies, Distribution of Time, and List of Text-books, used 
in the Scottish Institution for the Education of Young Ladies. (From the same.) 



DOCUMENTS FROM SCOTLAND. 617 

39. Report of the Scottish Institution for the Education of Young Ladies, 1838. 
(From tiie same.) 

40. General Observations on the Principles of Education, for the use of Me- 
chanics' Institutions, by Sir G.S.Mackenzie, 1836. 

41. Reports of the Directors of tlie School of Arts, from 1824 to 1836. (From 
Dr. D. B. Reid.) 

GLASGOW. 

1. Abstract of the Rules and Regulations by which Hutcheson's Hospital is 
governed, 18 )0. (From Mr. Hill.) 

2. State of the Cases of Applicants for admission into Hutcheson's, Baxter's, 
and Blair's Scliools, 1830. (From Mr. M'Arly.) 

3. State of the Cases of Applicants for admission into Miller's Charity School, 
1 836. (From the same.) 

4. Form of Indenture of pupils bound out by the Trustees of Hutcheson's Hos- 
pital. (From the same.) 

5. Plan of Parochial Training Schools, Infant and Juvenile, November, 1836. 
(From Mr. D. Stow.) 

6. Letters from Parents of Infant Schools. (From the same.) 

7. Sketch of the Building of the Highlanders' Schools, Greenock. 

8. An outline of the Studies pursued in the High School of Glasgow, with a 
few Introductory Remarks, 1835. (From Mr. D'Orsey.) 

9. Proceedings at the Annual Distribution of Prizes to the pupils attending the 
High School, 1836. (From the same.) 

10. Glasgow University Calendar. 1834. 

11. Regulations respecting the Examination for Degrees in Arts, in Medicine, 
and Surgery. (From the Provost of the University.) 

12. Subjects prescribed for Prize Essays at the University, 1836. (From the 
same.) 

13. List of Text-books used in the University of Glasgow. (MS.) 

14. Outline of tlie Plan of Instruction in the Class of Practical Astronomy, in 
the University of Glasgow. (From Professor Nichol.) 

15. Reform of the University of Glasgow, considered with reference to the 
published Report of the Royal Commissioners of Visitation, appointed by Sir 
Robert Peel, 1833. 

16. Observations by the Principal and Professors of Glasgow College, on the 
Schemes of Reform proposed for the University of Glasgow. 1837. 

17. Letter of Dr. John Lee, in reply to the foregoing. 

18. Outlines of the Lectures on Chemistry for the Mechanical Class of the 
Andersonian University. 1836-37. (From Professor Graham.) 

19. Syllabuses of L ctures at the Glasgow Mechanics' Institution, on Me- 
chanics, Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, Natural History and Physiology, His- 
tory, Geography, &,c. 1837. (From Mr. Hugo Reid.) 

20. Annual Reports of the Glasgow Mechanics' Institution, for the years 1826, 
1833-34-35-36. (From Mr. Leadbetter.) 

21. Prizes offered in the Glasgow Mechanics' Institution, session 1836-37. 

78 



618 APPENDIX. 

22. Prospectus of Anderston Popular Institution for the Difi^ion of Useful 

Knowledge. 

ST. ANDREWS. 
List of Text-books used in the English Department of the Madras College. 

FRANCE. 

CENERAL. 

1. Code Universitaire ou Lois, statuts et rdglemens de I'universite rojale de 
France, 1835. Code of the University, or Laws, Statutes, and Regulations of the 
Royal University of France, 1835. 

2. Almanach de I'Universite Royale de France, 1836. Almanack of the RoysJ 
University of France, 1836. 

3. Bulletin Universitaire. Official Bulletin of the Council of Public Instruction. 

4. Syst^me de I'Universite de France, ou plan d'une education nationale, par 
M. Rendu, 1816. System of the University of France^ or plan of a National 
Education, by M. Rendu, 1816, 

PRIMARY INSTRUCTION. 

5. Rapport au roi par le ministre de I'instruction publique sur I'ex^cution de 
la loi du 28 Juin, 1833, relative k I'instruction primaire. 1834. Report made to 
the King by the Minister of Public Instruction on the execution of the Law of 
the 28th of June, 1833, in reference to primary instruction. 1834. 

6. Rapport au roi sur la situation de I'instruction primaire par le ministre de 
I'instruction publique en 1837. Report to the King on the state of Primary In- 
struction, made by the Minister of Public Instruction, in 1837. 

7. Annuaire de I'instruction primaire, pour 1832-33-34. Annual of Primary 
Instruction for 1 832-33-34. 

8. Annuaire de I'lnstituteur Primaire, pour 1838. Annual for Primary Teach- 
ers, in 1838. 

9. Bulletin de la Societe pour I'instruction Elementaire, 1837. Bulletin of the 
Society of Elementary Instruction. 

10. Compte rendu des Travaux de la Societe d'Encouragement pour I'in- 
struction Elementaire, 1837. Report of the Society for the Promotion of Ele- 
mentary Instruction, 1837. 

11. Journal General de I'instruction Publique, 1838. General Journal of 
Public Instruction. 

12. Manuel General de I'instruction Primaire : Journal Officicl. General 
Manual of Primary Instruction, an Official Journal, 1838. 

13. Manxiel de I'Enseignement Simultane. Manual of Simultameous Instruc- 
tion, 1837. 

14. Manuel de I'Enseignement Mutuel, 1837. Manual of Mutual Instruction, 
1837. 



DOCUMENTS FROM FRANCE. 619 

15. Programme de la Societe pour la Propagation de la Methode Mnemonique 
Polonaise, 1837. Programme of the Society for the Propagation of the Polish 
Mnemonic Method, 1837, 

16. Guide de la Methode Wilhem, 1838. Guide for the Method of Wilhem, 
1838. 

1 7. Specimen of Writing from a Primary School at Paris. 

18. Sur rinstruction Primaire en France. On Primary Instruction in France. 

19. Manuel des Aspirants aux brevets de capacite pour I'enseignement ele- 
mentaire. Manual of Candidates for the diploma of Elementary Teacher, 1837. 

20. Programme des Questions pour I'examen des aspirants pour I'enseigne- 
ment primaire, 1837, Programme of Questions for the Examination of Teachers 
for Primary Instruction, 1837. 

21. De la Congregation des Fr6res de la Doctrine Chretienne. Account of 
the Rules, &c., of the Christian Brotherhood (for giving gratuitous instruction.) 

22. Programme des etudes et divers exercises aux quels doivent se livrer 
les eleves de I'ecole normale a, Dijon, 1837. Course of Study and Distribution 
of Time for the pupils of the Normal School at Dijon, 1837. (From the Director.) 

23. De la Construction des maisons d'ecole primaire, par Bouillon, 1834. 
On the Construction of School-houses for Primary Instruction, by Bouillon, 
1834. 

24. Le Visiteur des ecoles par un Inspecteur d' Academic, 1830. The Visitor 
of Schools, by an Inspector of the Academy, 1830. 

25. Expose des Motifs et Projet de loi sur I'lnstruction secondaire present^s, 
par M. Guizot, &. la Chambre des Deputes, 1836. Motives for the Proposed Law 
on Secondary Instruction. Presented by Mr. Guizot to the Chamber of Depu- 
ties. 1836. 

26. Rapport fait au nom de la Commission chargee d'examiner le Projet de 
loi sur I'lnstruction Secondaire, par M. St. Marc Girardin, Report from the 
Select Committee on the Project of Law on Secondary Instruction, made by Mr. 
St. Marc Girardin, in the name of the Committee. 

27. Memoire Presente par la Societe des Methodes d'Enseignement Memo- 
rial presented by the Society for Methods of Teaching. 

28. Arrete du Conseil Royal de I'lnstruction Publique, 1837 ; reglant les 
matidres sur lesquelles seront interroges les aspirants aux grades de bachelier 6s- 
Sciences, &c. Decree of the Council of Public Instruction, in 1837 ; fixing 
the subjects for examination for the degrees of bachelor of mathematical and 
physical sciences. 

29. Cours et conferences suivis dans I'Ecole Normale k Paris, en 1836, (MS.) 
Course of Study at the Normal School of Paris, 1836. (From M. Viguier.) 

30. Reglements, rapports et programme de I'Ecole Normale ci Paris, Regula- 
tions, Reports, and Programme of the Normal School at Paris. 

31. Manuel des Aspirants au Baccalaureat es-Lettres, 1836. Manual of Can- 
didates for the degree of Bachelor of Letters. 

32. Manuel des Aspirants au Baccalaureat 6s-Sciences, 1837. Manual of Can? 
didates for the degree of Bachelor of Sciences. 



620 APPENDIX. 

33. Programmes de I'enseignement de I'Ecole Royale Polytcchnique pour I'an- 
nee, 1836-37. Course of Study of the Royal Polytechnic School, for tlie year 
1836-37. (From Mr. Dulong.) 

34. Annuaire de I'Ecole Royale Polytcchnique, pour 1836 ct 1837. Annual of 
the Royal Polytechnic School, for the years 1836-37. 

35. Ecole centrale des Arts et Manufactures, Paris, 1837. Description of the 
Central School for Arts and Manufactures. (From Mr. Lavallee, director.) 

36. Programme de TEcole de Commerce et des Arts industriels k Charonne, 
biinlieue de Paris. Prospectus of the school lor Commerce and Industry at Cha- 
ronne, near Paris. (From Mr. Pinel Grandchamp, director.) 

SWITZERLAND. 

BERNE. 

1. Erkenntniss der Waiser.haus-direction ansehend eine anderwartige Einrich- 
tung des biirgerlichen Knaben und Madchcn Waisenhauses der Stadt Bern, 1799. 
Resolution of the Managers of the Orphan-house in reference to a new Organiza- 
tion of it, 1799. (From the Director.) 

2. Gcsctz iiber den Privat Uuterricht, 1835. Law on Private Instruction, 
1835. (From Mr. Schneider, Vice President of the Council of Public In- 
struction.) 

3. Instruction filr die Schul commissarien, 1833. Instruction for School Com- 
mittees, 1833. (From the same.) 

4. Loi sur les ecoles primaires publiques. 13 Mars, 1835. Law on Primary 
Public Schools, March 13, 1835. (From the same.) 

5. Bcschluss des grosscn Rathes in Bcziehung auf das Einkommen des 
Lehrers, 1837. Resolutions of the Great Council in reference to the Salary of 
Teachers. (From the same.) 

6. Bericht iiber die Versammlung des Vereins fiir Christlicher Volksbildung, 
1833, &c. Report of the Meeting of the Society for Christian Education, 1833. 
(From the same.) 

7. Berichtcn uber die Erziehungs-Anstalt fiir arme Kinder auf Battwyl bei 
Burgdorf, 1836-37. Report on the Establishment for the Education of Poor Chil- 
dren at Battwyl, near Burgdorf, 1836-37. Instituted by tlie Society for Chris- 
tian Education. (From tiic same.) 

8. Reglement fiir die Normalanstalt zu Miinclienbuchsee bei Bern, 1833. Re- 
gulations for tlie Normal School at Miinehenbuchsee, near Berne, 1833. (From 
the same.) 

9. Summarischer Bericht iiber die Normalanstalt in Miinehenbuchsee, 1837. 
(From the same.) 

10. Stundcnplan der Normalanstalt und der damit verbundenen Model 
Schule in Miinehenbuchsee, 1837. Plan of Instruction of the Normal School, 
and the Model School connected with it, at Miinehenbuchsee, 1837. (From the 
same.) 

11. Neunzehnter Bericht der Hauptversammlung der allgemeinen Schulmeis- 



DOCUMENTS FROM SWITZERLAND. 621 

tercasse des Cantons Bern, 1837. Nineteenth Report of the State of the Teach- 
ers' Fund of the Canton of Berne, 1837. (From the same.) 

12. Bericht uber die Leistungen und den Unterricht im Progymnasium und 
der damit verbundenen Industrie und Elementarschule, 1836. Report on the Pro- 
gress and Instruction in the Progymnasium, and in the Elementary and Indus- 
trial Schools connected therewith, 1836. (From Director Ruetschi.) 

13. Etat provisoire des le9ons de I'ecole d'industrie, 1837. Provisional Ar- 
rangement of Studies at the Industrial School, 1837. (From Professor Gerber.) 

14. Bericht iiber die Leistungen der Real Schule wahrcnd den Jahren 1833-35. 
Report on the Progress of the Real School during the years 1833-35. (From 
Counsellor Schneider.) 

15. Bericht iiber die Vcrlinderungen in der Litterarschule, 1833. Report on 
the Changes of the Grammar School, 1833. (From Mr. Ruetschi.) 

16. Bericht iiber die Leistungen und den Unterricht in der Litterarschule, in 
1833-34, und 1834-35. Report on the Progress and the Instruction in the Gram- 
mar School, in 1833-34, and 1834-35. (From the same.) 

17. Annalcn des Holieren Gymnasiums, 1836 and 1837. Annals of the Higher 
Gymnasium, 1836 and 1837. (From the same.) 

18. Ausfiihrliche Darstellung des Unterrichts Planes fiir das Holiere Gymna- 
sium, 1835. Full description of the Plan of Instruction in the Higher Gymna- 
sium, 1835. (From Counsellor Schneider.) 

19. Loi sur I'etablissement d'un Gymnase et d'une Universite k Berne, 1837. 
Law for the Establishment of a Gymnasium and a University at Berne, 1837. 
(From the same.) 

20. Reglemente fiir die Hochschule, 1835. Regulations for the University, 
1835.- (From the same.) 

21. Verzeichniss der Vorlesungen welche an der Hochschule gchalten worden 
sind wahrcnd den jahren 1834 bis 1837. List of Lectures which have been de- 
livered in the University during the years 1834 to 1837. (From the same.) 

22. Verzeichness der BehOrden, Professoren und Schullehrer, Studierenden 
und Schiller der Bernischen Akademie und Schulen, von 1834 bis 1837. List 
of the Authorities, Professors, Teachers, Students, and Pupils in the University 
and Schools of Berne, from 1834 to 1837. (From the same.) 

23. Dckret iiber den Besuch Franzosischer Universitatcn, 1834. Decree in 
relation to Attendance at French Universities, 1834. (From the same.) 

HOFWYL. 

1. Lettre sur la Fete celebree k Hofwyl, le 23 Mai, 1807, par M. Gauteron. 
Letter on the Festival which was held at Hofwyl, the 23d of May, 1807. By Mr. 
Gauteron. 

2. Coup d'oeil sur I'influence h esperer des etablissemens d'Hofwyl quant au 
perfectionnement de I'industrie et des moeurs, par M. Gauteron. On the In- 
fluence which may be expected from the Establishments at Hofwyl, in reference 
to the promotion of Industry and Morals, by Mr. Gauteron. (From Mr. Fellen- 
berg.) 

3. Lettre sur les etablissemens dc Mr. Fcllcnberg, et specialomont sur I'ecole 



G22 APPEXDIX. 

des pauvres h Hofwyl, 1812, par M. Charles Pictet. Letter on the establishments 
of Mr. Fellenberg, and especially on the Poor School at Hofwyl, 1812. By Charles 
Pictet. 

4. Rapport sur I'institut d'education des pauvres k Hofwyl, redige par M. A. 
Rengger. Report on the Institution for the Education of the Poor at Hofwyl, 
by Mr. A. Rengger, 1815. 

5. Notice sur les etablissemens de Hofwyl, par M. V. E. B. Crud, 1816. Notes 
on the Establishments at Hofwyl, by Mr. V. E. B. Crud, 1816. 

6. Darstellung des religiOsen Bildungsganges der wissenschafllichen Erzieh- 
ungsanstaltcn in Hofwyl, von Emanuel von Fellenberg, 1822. Exposition of 
the Religious Instruction given in the Boarding-schools at Hofwyl, by Emanuel 
von Fellenberg, 1822, (From Mr. Fellenberg.) 

7. Lettre sur la colonic d'enfants indigents, etablie h Meykirch pres de Hofwyl, 
1830, par M. de Fellenberg. Letter on the Colony for Poor Children, established 
in Maykirch, near Hofwyl, by Mr. Von Fellenberg, 1839. (From the same.) 

8. Extracts of a Letter from Em. Fellenberg to Lady Noel Byron, stating the 
objects of his Institutions at Hofwyl, near Berne. (Translated from the German.) 
(From the same.) 

9. Trois lettres sur Hofwyl &. propos de la brochure de M. St. Marc Girardin 
6ur I'instruction intermediare. Three Letters on Hofwyl, written in consequence 
of Mr. St. Marc Girardin's pamphlet on Intermediate Instruction, 1835. 

10. Mittheilungsblatt filr die freunde der Schulverbesserung im Kanton Berne, 
1832. Journal of the Friends of Improvement in the Schools. (From the same.) 

FRIBURG. 
Uber die Bethatigung des Fleisses in Schulen von Girard, 1836. On the Ex- 
citement of Industry in Schools, by Girard, 1836. (From Father Girard.) 

GENEVA. 

1. Rapport au Conseil Representatif sur un projet de loi relatif a, la Direction 
et it I'Administration des etablissemens d'Instruction Publique, par M. le 
Syndic Girod, 1833. Report to the Representative Council upon a proposed 
Law, in reference to the administration of establishments for Public Instruction, 
by Syndic Girod, 1833. (From Professor Dccandolle.) 

2. Rapport au Conseil Representatif sur le projet de loi relatif &, la direction 
et h. I'Administration des etablissemens d'Instruction Publique, fait au nom de 
la commission nommee pour I'examiner, par M. le Prof. A. de la Rive, 1833. 
Report to the Representative Council on the Projected Law in reference to the 
Administration of Establishments for Public Instruction, made by Professor de la 
Rive, in the name of the committee appointed for that purpose, 1833. (From 
the same.) 

3. Loi sur la Direction et I'Administration des etablissemens d'Instruction 
Publique, 1834. Law Regulating the Administration of Establishments for Pub- 
lic Instruction, 1834. (From the same.) 

4. Rapport au Conseil Representatif sur le projet de loi relatif aux ecoles, 
1835, par M. le Syndic Lullin. Report to the Representative Council upon the 
Projected Law in relation to Schools, 1835, by Syndic Lullin, (From the same.) 



DOCUMENTS FROM SWITZERLAND. 623 

5. Rdglement sur I'lnspection et la Surveillance des ecoles primaires, 1834. 
Regulations for the Inspection and Superintendence of Primary Schools, 1834. 
(From the same.) 

6. Rapport au Conseil Representatif sur un Projet de Loi sur les 6coles pri- 
maires, 1835, par M. Macaire Prinsep. Report to the Representative Council 
on a Projected Law on Primary Schools, 1835, by Mr. Macaire Prinsep. (From 
the same.) 

7. Loi sur les ecoles primaires, 1835. Law on Primary Schools, 1835. (From 
the same.) 

8. Arrete sur I'Enseignement Religieux dans les ecoles primaires, 1835, De- 
cree in reference to Religious Instruction in Primary Schools, 1835. (From 
the same.) 

9. Rapports du Comite de I'ecole rurale de Carra, pour 1835 et 1836. Re- 
ports of the Committee on the Rural School of Carra, for 1835 and 1836. (From 
the Syndic Vernet-Pictet.) 

10. Rapport au Conseil Representatif sur I'Organisation des Colleges de Ge- 
neve et deCarouge, 1835, par M. le Syndic Girod. Report to the Representative 
Council on the Organization of the Colleges at Geneva and Carouge, 1835, by 
Syndic Girod. (From Professor Decandolle.) 

11. Loi sur les Colleges de Geneve et de Carouge, 1835. Law Regulating the 
Colleges of Geneva and Carouge, 1835. (From the same.) 

12. Rapport au Conseil Representatif sur un Projet de Loi relatif aux Colleges 
de Geneve et de Carouge, 1836, par M. le Professeur Macaire Prinsep. Report 
to the Representative Council on a Projected Law in reference to the Colleges at 
Geneva and Carouge, 1836, by Professor Macaire Prinsep. (From the same.) 

13. Arr6te sur I'Enseignement Religieux dans les Colleges de Geneve et de 
Carouge, 1836, Decree in reference to Religious Instruction in the Colleges of 
Geneva and Carouge, 1836. (From the same.) 

14. R6glement sur les Colleges de Gen6ve et de Carouge, 1836. Regulations 
for the Colleges of Geneva and Carouge, 1836. (From the same.) 

15. Rapport au Conseil Representatif sur le Projet de Loi relatif &, I'Organisa- 
tion de 1' Academic, 1835, par M. I'Ancien Syndic Fatio. Report to the Repre- 
sentative Council on the Projected Law in reference to the Organization of the 
Academy, 1836, by ex-Syndic Fatio. (From the same.) 

16. Rapport au Conseil Representatif sur le Projet de Loi sur I'Academie, 
1835, par M. le Docteur Vaucher. Report to the Representative Council on the 
Projected Law on the Academy, 1835, by Dr. Vaucher, (From the same.) 

17. Loi et R6glement sur I'Academie de Gen6ve, 1835, Law and Regulations 
of the Academy of Geneva, 1835, (From the same.) 

18. Cours de I'Ecole Industrielle, 1837. Course of Study at the School of 
Arts. (From Mr. Prevost Martin.) 

LATJSANNE. 

1. Lois sur I'lnstruction Publique, 1833-34. Laws on Public Instruction, 
1833-34. (From Professor Chavannes.) 

2. Circulaire adressee aux Commissions chargees de I'lnspection des 6coles sur 



(j'2i APPENDIX. 

les Objets dont les ecoles doivent 6trc pourvues. Circular addressed to the Com- 
mittees of Inspection in reference to the articles which ought to be found in the 
Schools. (From the same.) 

3. Circulaire sur I'Administration des ecoles adressee aux Commissions Com- 
munales d'Inspection, 1834. Circular addressed to the Committees of Inspec- 
tion in reference to the Administration of the Schools, 1834. (From the same.) 

4. Instructions pour les Commissions charg^ees de I'lnspection des ecoles, 
1835-36-37. Instruction to the Committees charged with the Inspection of 
Schools, 1835-36-37. (From the same and the Secretary of the Council of Pub- 
lic Instruction.) 

5. Loi du 24 Janvier, 1837, sur les ecoles publiques primaires. Law of the 
24th of June, 1837, on Public Primary Schools. (From Professor Chavannes.) 

6. Instruction sur les objets necessaires pour I'exposition des notions elemen- 
taires des sciences naturelles dans les ecoles primaires, 1834. Direction in refe- 
rence to the objects required for giving elementary notions of Natural Sciences in 
the Primary Schools, 1837. (From the same.) 

7. Rapport sur les ecoles primaires du Canton de Vaud pour I'annee, 1836. 
Report on the Primary Schools of the Canton of Vaud, for 1836. (From the 
same.) 

8. Questions addresses aux commissions charg^es de inspection des ecoles. 
Questions (blank forms) addressed to tlie Committees of Inspection of the Schools. 
(From the same.) 

9. Regies de I'ecole (pour les ecoles primaires.) Rules for the Primary Schools. 
(From the same.) 

10. De I'instruction publique dans le canton de Vaud par Gindroz, 1837. 
On Public Instruction in the Canton of Vaud, by Gindroz, 1837. 

11. Memoire presente 6. Monseigneur I'evfeque de Lausanne et Geneve par le 
venerable clerge du Canton de Fribourg, au sujet de la derni^re loi sur les ecoles 
primaires 1830. Memorial presented to the Bishop of Lausanne and Geneva, 
by the Clergy of the Canton of Friburg, in reference to the last law on Primary 
Schools, in 1834. 

12. Rapport fait par le Comite de I'Ecole Normale Provisoire. Report made 
by the Committee of the Provisional Normal School, 1835. (From Prof. Cha- 
vannes.) 

13. R^glcment pour I'Ecole Normale, du 23d Septembre, 1835. Regulations 
for the Normal Scliool, September 23d, 1835. (From Rev. Director Gauthcy.) 

14. Notice sur TEcole Normale du Canton de Vaud, par son Dirccteur L. F. F. 
Gauthcy, Pasteur, extrait du Journal de la Societe d'Utilite Publique, 1835, No- 
tice of the Normal School of the Canton of Vaud, by the Rev. Director L. F. F. 
Gauthcy, extracted from the Journal of the Society of Public Utility, 1835. (From 
tlie autlior.) 

15. Rcglement de I'Ecole Normale pour les Institutrices. Regulations of the 
Normal School for Female Teachers. (From the same.) 

16. R6glemcnt du 7 Aout, 1835, pour les ecoles Moyennes. Regulations for the 
Middle or Industrial Schools, August 7th, 1835. (From Professor Chavannes.) 



DOCUMENTS FROM SWITZERLAND. 625 

LUCERNE. 

1. Gesetz iiber das Erziehungs und Offentliche Schulvvesen, 1830. Law on 
Education and Public Instruction, 1830. (From Mr. Rietsciii, director of the 
normal school.) 

2. Gesetz iiber die Wiederholungs und Fortbildungsschulen, 1833. Law on 
the Schools for Repetition, 1833. (From the same.) 

3. Vollziehungs Beschluss iiber das allgemeine Erziehungs Gesetz in Betreff 
des Primar und Sekundar Schulwcsens, 1830. Law on General Education in 
reference to Primary and Secondary Instruction, 1830. (From the same.) 

4. Beschluss die Entschiidigung filr das Lokal der Sekundar Schulen regulir- 
end, 1831. Law regulating the locality of secondary schools, 1831. (From the 
same.) 

5. Schulplan fiir die hohere Central Lehranstalt so wie fiir die Lateinischen 
Schulen im Kanton, 1830. Plan of Instruction for the higher central school, and 
for all the Latin Schools in the Canton, 1830. (From the same.) 

6. Beschluss die Disziplinar Verordnungen fiir die hohere Central Lehran- 
stalt enthaltend, 1830. Regulations for the discipline at the higher Central school, 
1830. (From the same.) 

7. Disziplinarverordnung fiir die hohcre Centrallchranstalt, &c., 1833. Re- 
gulations of the higher Central normal school, 1833. (From the same.) 

8. Beschluss die Aufstellung eincr Schuldircction bey der hoheren Central- 
lehranstall enthaltend, 1831. Law for the appointment of a school direction for 
the higher Central school, 1831. (From the same.) 

9. Organisation der Schuldircction und Disciplinarverordnung filr die Cen- 
trallchranstalt, 1836. Organization of the school direction and regulations for 
discipline at the Central school, 1836, (From tlie same.) 

10. Verordnungen und Studenplan fiir die Zoglinge des Lehrer Instituts des 
Kantons Luzern. Regulations and-course of study for the pupils of the normal 
school of the canton of Lucerne. (From the same.) 

NEUFCHATEL. 
Reglemens pour la Maison des Orphelins de Neufchatel. Regulations for the 
Orphan-house at Neufchatel. (From Mr. Borel, director.) 

TIIURCOVIA. 

1. Allgemeiner Bericht iiber den Zustand des Thurgauischen Schulwesens in 
183.3-34-35. General report on the state of public instruction in Thurgovia, in 
1833-31-3.5. (From Mr. Wehrli.) 

2. Unterrichtsplan fiir die Elementarschulen des Kanton Thurgau, 1837. 
Plan of instruction for the elementary schools of the Canton of Thurgovia, 1837. 
(From the same.) 

3. Lectionsplan fiir die Normalschul in Kreuzlingen, 1837. Course of study 
at the normal school in Kreuzlingen, 1837, (MS.) (From the same.) 

YVERDUN. 
Rapport sur I'lnstitut de M. Pestalozzi &. Yverdun, 1810. Report on the Insti- 
tution of Mr. Pestalozzi, at Yverdun, 1810. (From Father Girard, in Freyburg.) 
79 



G26 APPENDIX. 

ZURICH. 

1. Bericht iiber das Waisenhaus in Zurich, 1836. Report on the Orphan-house 
at Zurich, 1837. (From Burgomaster Hess.) 

2. Gesetz ilber die Organisation dcs gesammten Unterrichtswcsens im Kan- 
ton Zurich, 1832. Law on the Organization of the general plan of instruction in 
tlie Canton of Zurich, 1832. 

3. Geschilflsordnung fur die Bezirksschulpflegen, 1833. Regulations for the 
comniitlees of school districts, 1833. (From Burgomaster Hess.) 

4. Gescliilflsordnung fiir die GemelndsschulpHegen, 1833, Regulations for 
the committees of school comniunitics, 1833. (From the same.) 

5. Vcrordnung fiir Repetir und Singschulen, 1835. Regulations relating to 
schools for singing and repetition, 1835. (From the same.) 

6. Verordnung betreffend die Leitung von Schulgemeindsversammlungen, 
1836. Regulations relating to the meetings of school communities, 1836. 
(From the same.) 

7. Verordnung uber Ordnung und Zucht in den Volksschulen, 1836. Regula- 
tions for discipline in common schools, 1836. (From the same.) 

8. Beschluss betreffend die Einfiirung der Lchrmitlel fiir den Gesangunter- 
richt, 1833. Resolution for introducing the required means of instruction in 
singing into the schools, 1833. (From the same.) 

9. Der Erziehungsrath betreffend die Berichterstattung ilber die Volksschulen, 
von 1834-5. The councillor of education prescribing the form of report on pub- 
lic schools, for the years 1834-35. (From the same.) 

10. Gesetz iiber die Errichtung von Musterschulen, 1834. Law on the estab- 
lishment of model schools, 1834. (From the same.) 

11. Gesetz betreffend die hfihcren Volksschulen, 1833. Law relating to the 
higher common schools, 1833. (From the same.) 

12. Reglement fiir das Schullchrer Institut, 1832. Regulations for the 
Teacher's Institute, 1832. (From the same.) 

13. Gesetz betreffend die Bildung einer Classe von Praparanden fiir den 
Schullehrerstand, 1834. Reglement von 1836. Law relating to the establish- 
ment of a preparatory class for candidates for the profession of teacher, 1834. 
Regulations of 1836. (From the same.) 

14. Verordnung uber die Ertheilung von Ruhegehalten an Volksschullehrer, 
1834. Regulations relative to pensions for teachers of common schools, 1834. 
(From the same.) 

15. Reglement fiir die Schullehrerconfercnzen, 1835. Regulations for the 
meetings of teachers, 1835. (From the same.) 

16. Reglement uber die Priifungen der Volksschullehrer, 1835. Regulations 
for the examination of teachers for common scliools, 1835. (From the same.) 

17. Reglement iiber die Prtifungen der Sekundarlehrer, 1835. Regulations 
for the examination of teachers for secondary schools (higlier primary), 1835. 
(From tlie same.) 

18. Gesetz iiber das Schullehrerseminar, 1836. Law on the normal school, 
1836. (From the same.) 



DOCUMENTS FROM BELGIUM. 627 

19. Provisorisches Reglcment fur die AufsichtsbehOrde des Schullehrcr Semi- 
nars, 1837. Provisory reg-ulations for the superintending board for the normal 
school, 1836. (From the same.) 

20. Stundenverzeichniss des SchuUehrer Seminars, 1837. Course of study at 
tlic normal school, 1837. (From the same.) 

21. Gesetze und Verordnungen fiir die Hochschulc in Zurich, 1832. Laws and 
regulations for the University of Zurich, 1832. (From the same.) 

22.* Ansichten liber den Zustand des Volksschulwesens im Kanton Ziirich 
von Scherr, 1831. Views on the state of public instruction in the Canton of 
Zurich, by Scherr, 1831. 

23. Entwurf eines Gcsetzsvorschlages zur Organisation des Volksschulwe- 
sens im Kanton Zurich, 1832. Sketch of a projected law on the organization of 
public instruction in the Canton of Zurich, 1832. 

24. Uber Bildungsstufen, Lehrkurse, Klasseneintheilung in der Volksschule 
von Scherr, 1833. On the plan of instruction, course of studies, and division of 
classes in common schools, by Scherr, 1833. 

25. Entwurf eines allgemeinen Unterrichtsplanes fiir die Primarschulen des 
Cantons ZCirich, 1836. Sketch of a general plan of instruction for primary 
schools in the Canton of Zurich, 1836. (From Burgomaster Hess.) 

BELGIUM. 

BRUSSELS. 

1. Projet de loi pour I'Enseignement publique en Belgique, 1832. Projected 
law on Public Instruction in Belgium, 1832. 

2. Rdglcment pour I'ecole primairc moddle de Bruxelles, 1836. Regulations 
for the Primary Model School at Brussels, 1836. (From Mr. Ducpetiaux.) 

3. Distribution des Occupations_ de I'ecole primairc models. Distribution of 
Time in the Primary Model School, 1838, (MS.) (From the same.) 

4. Reglcment de la Societe pour I'lnstruction primairc et populaire. Regu- 
lations of the Society for Primary Instruction, 1837. (From the same.) 

LIEGE. 

1. Collection de Rapports sur I'lnstruction primairc dans la Province de Na- 
mur, et en general sur I'etat de cette instruction dans les diverses provinces 
du Royaume, de 1825 a 1830. Collection of Reports on Primary Instruction in 
the Province of Namur, and on the condition of Primary Instruction in general, 
in the different provinces of the kingdom, from 1825 to 1830. (From Mr. Ar- 
nould.) 

2. Reglcment de la Societe d'Encouragcment pour I'lnstruction Elementaire 
dans la Province de Liege, 1829. Regulations of the Society for Promoting 
Elementary Instruction in the Province of Liege, 1829. (From Mr. Ducpe- 
tiaux.) 

* These documents are placed last, because they are not official, but drawn up 
by an individual : they have, however, had great influence in giving a form to 
public primary instruction in Zurich. 



628 APPENDIX. 

3. Programme des Cours de I'Ecolc des Arts et Manufactures ct des Mines, 
1836-37. Programme of Lectures at the School of Arts and Manufactures and 
of Mines, 1836-37. (From the Rector of the University, M. Dupont.) 

4. Programme des Cours h I'Universite de Liege, en 1838. Programme of 
Lectures at the University of Liege, 1838. (From the same.) 

HOLLAND. 

AMSTERDAM. 

1. Notes sur la Maison des Orphelins Bourgeois h Amsterdam, 1837. Notes 
on the Burgher Orphan-house at Amsterdam, 1837. (MS.) (From Professor 
Den Tex.) 

2. Het Wijzc en Weldadige der Schoolverordeningen door's lands hooge 
magten vastgesteld, in het jaar 1806. On the Utility of the Regulations for the 
Schools, as ordered by Government in 1806. 

.3. Vcrhandcling over de volstrekt noodzakelijke kundigheden wclke in de 
openbare en armenscholcn behooren medegedeeld te vi'orden, 1820. Treatise 
on the Instruction whicli should be given in Public and Poor Schools, 1820. 
(From Professor DenTex.) 

4. Series Lectionum et Institutionum quae habentur a Professoribus Illustris 
Athenaei Amstelaedamensis, 1838. List of Lectures delivered by the Professors 
of the Athenaeum in Amsterdam, in 1838. (From the same.) 

5. De la Colonic de Frcdericksoord, par M. de Keverberg, 1821. On the Co- 
lony of Fredericksoord, by Mr. de Keverberg, 1821. 

6. Huislioudclijkc Bepalingen voor de vrije Kolonien volgens de jongste Bes- 
luiten der permancnte kommissie der Maatschappij van Weldadigheid, 1822. 
Domestic Regulations for the Free Colonies, according to the last Resolutions of 
the Committee of the Society for Public Utility, 1 822. 

7. Verzameling van Wetten en Verordeningen der Maatschappij van Welda- 
digheid, 1820. Collection of Laws and Regulations of the Society for Public 
Utility, 1820. 

THE HAGUE. 

1. Namcn van eenigc Heeren, welke vroeger behoord hebben tot de Fondatie 
van de Vrouvve van Renswoudc, afdccling 's Gravcnhage, (MS.) Names of some 
of the pupils educated upon the Rcnswoude Foundations at the Hague, (with their 
occupations.) (From the Master.) 

2. Arrete du 27 Mar, 1830, contenant des Modifications aux Dispositions ex- 
istantes au sujet de I'lnstruction. Proposed Decree of the 27th Marcii, 1830, 
containing Modifications to the present Regulations in regard to Instruction. 
(From Inspector Wynbeck.) 

3. Tafelcn van Werkzaamhcdcn in te Dag en Avond-school, 1837. Course 
of Study at the Day and Evening School, 1837. 

4. Methodc pour apprcndre Part d'cerire suivant les quatre fondamens, 1837. 
Method of learning to Write, according to the four Fundamental Rules, 1837. 

5. Verdeeling der Klassen voor de Koninklijke Muzijk School, 1837. Division 
of classes in the Royal Music School, 1837. (From Mr. Simons.) 



DOCUMENTS FROM AUSTRIA. 629 

HAARLEM. 

1, Verslag nopens den staat der liooge, middclbare en lagere scholen in 1835, 
gedaan ann de Staten Generaal ingevolge art 226 der grondwet. Report on the 
State of Higher, Middle, and Lower Schools in 1835, made to the States General. 
(From Inspector Wynbeek.) 

2. List von Boeken voor de lurschool in Harlaem, 1837. List of Books used 
in the Normal Seminary and its Elementary School at Haarlem, 1837. (From 
Director Prinsen.) 

ROTTERDAM. 

De I'Instruction Primaire en Rotterdam, par Victor Cousin, 1836. On Pri- 
mary Instruction in Rotterdam, by M. Cousin, 1836. (From the Author.) 

UTRECHT. 

1. Eleves weike sedert, 1824, de Fundatie van Renswoude verlaten hebben. 
Voormalige Eleves, welke nog in lerer zyn, en verdienster hebben. (MS.) List 
of Pupils who have left the Renswoude Foundation since 1824, and of some 
former Pupils of the Foundation. (From the Director.) 

2. Course of Study of the five classes of the Latin School. (MS.) (From Mr. 
Van Bolhuis.) 

3. Over de tegenwoordige inrigting der Latijnsche School te Utrecht, door 
J. H. Van Bolhuis, 1837. On the present arrangement of the Latin School at 
Utrecht, by J. H. Van Bolhuis, 1837. 

AUSTRIA. 

LINTZ. 

Einladung zur flfTentlichen Priifung in der Normal Hauptschule, 1838. Pro 
gramme for the Public Examination of tlie Model High School, 1838, (From Di- 
rector I'auspertl.) 

PRAGUE. 

1. Geschichte des Waiseninstituts zum Heiligen Johann. History of the Or- 
phan-house of St. John, 1785. (From Director Lampa.) 

2. Darstellung der Vcrvvaltung und Eechnung des Waisenhauses zum Heiligen 
Johann, in 1834-35, und 1835-36. Report on the Administration and Expenditure 
of the Orphan-house of St. John, in 1834—35, and 1835-36. (From the same.) 

3. Tagesordnung, Schulplan und Verhaltungs Regein fiir die ZOglinge des 
Waisenhauses zum Heiligen Johann. Distribution of Time, Plan of Instruction, 
and Regulations of Discipline in the Orphan-house of St. John, (MS.) (From the 
sani e. 

4. Kurze Ubersicht des Schulwcsens in (isferreich, 1838. Short View of Pub- 
lic Instruction in Austria, 1838, (MS.) (From Mr. Parti.) 

5. Politische Verfassung der Deutschen Schulen in den K. K. Deutschen Erb- 
staaten, 1828. Plan of Organization of all the German Schools in Austria, 1828. 
(From the Rev. Mr. Schneider.) 

6. Erster Jahresbericht iiber die Kleinkinderbewahr Anstalt am Hradek, 1833. 
First Annual Report on the Infant School at Hradek, 1833. (From Mr. Sparshil.) 



G30 APPENDIX. 

7. Einladung zur Offentlichen Prilfung dcr Muster Ilauptscliule in 1792, 1798, 
und 1838. Projrramme for tlie Public Examination of the Model High School 
in 1792, 1798, and 1838. (From the director.) 

8. Darstellung der technisclien Lehranstalt und Realschule von Baron von 
Henniger, 1835. Description of the Technical Institution and Real School, by 
Baron von Henniger, 1835. (From Baron Henniger von Ebcrg.) 

9. Ordnung dcr Vorlesungen in der technischen Lehranstalt und Schulplan 
fiir die Realschule, 1837. Courses of Lectures in the Technical Institution and 
Plan of Instruction in the Real School, 1837. (From the same.) 

10. Sammlung der Verordnungen und Vorschriflen tlber die Verfassung der 
Gymnasien, 1812, Collection of Regulations for the Organization of the Gym- 
nasia, 1812. (From Professor Swobod a.) 

11. Personal Stand und Vorlesungen an der Universitiit in 1837 und 1838. 
List of Professors and Courses of Lectures at the University in 1837-38. (From 
Professor Hessler.) 

SALTZBURG. 

1. Einladung zur effentlichen Priifung in der Normal Hauptscliule, 1838. 
Programme for the Public Examination of the Normal High School, 1838. 
(From Director Maier.) 

2. Ordnung dcr Deutschen Schulen im Stadtbezirkc Salzburg, 1837-38. Plan 
of Instruction in the Elementary Schools of Saltzburg, 1837-38. (From the 
same.) 

VIENNA. 

1. Letter from Berlin relating to the Schools and the School-books of Austria. 

2. Notes on the Schools of Vienna, (MS.) 

3. Einladung zur Cffentlichen Priifung in dcr Normal Hauptschule bci St. 
Anna, 1838. Programme for the Public Examination of the Model High 
School at St. Anna, 1835. (From Director Vogl.) 

4. Specimens of Writing and Linear Drawing, from the Model High School. 
(From the same.) 

5. Skizzirter Entwurf der Gymnasial Studien in Ostcrreich. Sketch of a pro- 
jected course of Studies for the Gymnasia of Austria, 1838. (From Vice-Direc- 
tor Walsch.) 

6. Juvcntus Caesareo Regii Gymnasii Acadcmici Viennae e Moribus et Pro- 
gressu in Litcris censa exeunte, 1837. List of the Pupils in the Imperial Gym- 
nasium at Vienna, in the order of merit, 1837. (From the same.) 

7. Statutcn der K. K. Theresianischen Ritterakademie, 1802. Statutes for 
the Academy for Noblemen, called the Thercsianum, 1802. (From Vice-Director 
Brukncr.) 

8. Verfassung dcs Polytechnischcn Instituts, 1818. Organization of the Poly- 
technical Institute, 1836. (From Director Prechtl.) 

9. Vorlesungen am Polyteclinischen Institut in 1833. Courses of Lectures 
at the Poly technical Institute in 1836. (From the same.) 

10. Bcricht iiber die Verfassung der Ingcnieur Akademie, 1837. Report on 
the Organization of the Academy for Engineers, 1837. (From the director.) 



DOCUMENTS FROM BADEIV, RAVARIA, &C. C31 

BADEN. 

HEIDELBERG. 

1. Academische Gesetze fur die Univcisiliiten Heidelberg und Freiburg. Laws 
and Regulations for the Universities of Heidelberg and Freyberg, 1825, 

2. Personalbestand und Verzeiehniss der Vorlesungen an der Universita,t 
Heidelberg, in 1837-38. Professors and students, and list of courses of lectures 
at the University of Heidelberg, in 1837-38. 

BAVARIA. 

BAYREUTH. 
Dr. Graser's Erzeiliung's Plan, seine Ansichten und Ideen, Dr. Graser's 
System of Instruction, his views and ideas. (MS.) 

MUNICH. 

1. Lehrbezirk sammtlicher Gegenstiinde der Elementarschulen. View of the 
Extent of the Subjects of Instruction in the Elementary Schools, 1831. 

2. Uber den Zustand der Wcrktagsschulen mid Verzeiehniss der Preisvertheil- 
mig in 1837. On the Condition of the Common Schools, and a list of the Distri- 
bution of Prizes in 1837. 

3. Verzeiehniss der verordneten Schulbiicher. Catalogue of Prescribed 
School-books, 1836. 

4. Vorschriften die Bildung der Schullehrer betreffend, 1836. Regulations in 
Relation to the Education of Teachers, 1836. 

5. Jahresbericht des K. Gymnasiums in Miinchen, 1837. Annual Report of 
the Royal Gymnasium in Munich, 1837. (From Director Ilocheder.) 

6. Verfassung des K. Erziehungs Inslituts fiir Studirende, 1S31. Organiza- 
tion of the Royal Boarding School preparatory to the University, 1831. (From 
Director Geyr.) 

7. Jahresbericht der Landvvirtlischafl und Gewerbeschule, 1837. Annual Re- 
port of the Agricultural and Trades' School, 1837. (From Director Pauli.) 

8. Programm der K. Polytechnischenschule, 1833. Programme of the Royal 
Poly technical School, 1833. (From the same.) 

9. Verzeiehniss der Vorlesungen an der Universitllt, in 1836. Courses of Stu- 
dies at the University in 1838. 

NUREMBERG. 
Jahresberi elite der Handels Gewerbeschule in Nurnberg, von 1834 bis 1837. 
Annual Reports of the Commercial and Trade School, from 1834 to 1837. (From 
Director Miinnich.) 

FREE TOWNS. 

BREMEN. 

1. Anordnung der Lelirstunden in der Vorschule, 1837-38. Plan of Instruc- 
tion in the Preparatory School, 1837-38. (From Prof. Strack.) 

2. Verzeiehniss der Lelirstunden in der Handelschule, 1837-38. Plan of In- 
struction in the Commercial School, 1837-38. (From the same.) 



632 APPENDIX. 

FRANKFORT ON MAINE. 

1. Tagesordnungf, Lectionsplan und Speiseordnung im Waisenliause, 1838. 
Distribution of time, plan of instruction, and tabic of diet in the Orphan-house, 
1838. (From Mr. Schilffer, head master.) 

2. Kurze Geschichte der Musterschule in den sechs ersten Jahren Hires Beste- 
hens, 1832. Short account of the Model School during the first six years of its 
existence. (From Director Bagg-c.) 

3. Einladungschriften zur offentlichen Prilfung in der Musterschule, 1833-38. 
Programmes for the public examination at the Model School, 1833-38. (From 
the same.) 

4. Stundenplan der Musterschule, 1837-38. Plan of Instruction in the Model 
School, 1837-38. (From the same.) 

5. Verzeichniss der Lectioncn im Gymnasium fiir das Wintcr-Halbjahr, 1837-38. 
Plan of Instruction in the Gymnasium for the winter term, 1837-38. 

HAMBURGH, 

1. A short account of the former and present organization of the Orphan-house, 
(MS.) Reply to a circular letter, addressed by the secretary of the society for 
Elementary Instruction of Paris, (MS.) (From Dr. KrOger.) 

2. Rede zu seiner fiinf und zwansigjahrigen Amts-Jubelfeier, von Dr. KrO- 
ger, Katecheten am Waisenhause. Speech at the celebration of the twenty-fifth 
anniversary of his superintendence, by Dr. KrOgcr, catechist of the Orphan- 
house. With notes relating to the establishment. (From the same.) 

3. Instruction fur die Aufseherinnen der hiesigen Warteschulen. Regulations 
for the superintending females of the infant schools. 

4. Rede und Bericht des Schul-und Erziehungs-Wesens in Hamburgh, 1835. 
Report upon the schools of Hamburgh, 1835. (From Dr. KrOger.) 

5. Darstellung und Beurtheilung der Erziehungs systeme von Dr. J. C. KrO- 
ger. Account and criticism of systems of Education, by Dr. Krfiger. (From 
the same.) 

6. Prospectus der Handelschule. Prospectus of the Commercial High School. 

HANOVER. 

Verzeichniss der Vorlcsungen an der Universitilt Gottingcn in 1838. Courses 
of Lectures at the University of Gottingcn in 1838. 

NASSAU. 

WISBADEN. 

1. Nachricht iibcr die de Laspee'sche Erziehungsanstalt, 1833. Report on 
the boarding-school of do Laspee, 1833. (From Mr. Leyendecker.) 

2. Lehrplan und Bedingungen der aufnahme filr Schuler des de Laspee'schen 
Instituts, 1834. Plan of instruction and conditions of admission into the board- 
ing-school of de Laspee. (From the same.) 

3. Programm der Offentlichen Priifung in der do Laspee'schen Erziehungs- 
anstalt, 1835. Programme of the public examination at de Laspee's boarding- 
school, 1835. (From the same.) 



DOCUMENTS FROM PRUSSIA. 633 

4. Vorschlag eines allgemeinen Erziehungshauses fur talentvolle arme Kna- 
faen. Project of a boarding-school for intelligent poor boys. (From Councillor 
Albrecht.) 

5. Die Versuchsanlagen des landwirthschafllichen Vereins an die Herzogl. 
Nassauische Ackerbauschule in Wisbaden. Description of the agricultural 
school at Wisbaden and the trial plantations of the agricultural society. (From 
the same.) 

PRUSSIA. 

1. Sammlung der auf den Cffentlichen Unterricht in Preussen sich beziehen- 
den Gesetze und Verordnungen, 1826. Collection of laws and regulations re- 
lating to public instruction in Prussia, 1826. 

2. Das Volks Schulwesen in Preussen, 1834. On public instruction in Prus- 
sia; a collection of laws in reference to elementary instruction, 1834. 

3. Regulations from the ministry on public instruction in regard to the Gym- 
nasiums in Prussia, 1837, (MS.) (Through the Hon. H. Wheaton.) 

ANNABURG. 

1. Der Untcrrichtsplan fiir das Annaburger Militair Knaben Institut wie es 
vom Octbr., 1834, an zu befolgen ist. Plan of Instruction for the Soldier's 
School at Annaburg, as it will be carried into execution in October, 1834. (From 
Dr. Harniscli.) 

2. Tagesordnung der ZOglinge, Dienstinstruction fiir den Prediger und Schul- 
inspector, tiir die siebcn Classenlehrer und fur den Werkmeister. Distribution 
of Time for the Pupils, Regulations relating to the duties of the Clergyman and 
School Inspector, to the seven teachers of the different classes, and to the work- 
master. (From the same.) 

3. Entwiirf zu den vierteljiihrlichen und Jahresberichten. Sketch of Quar- 
terly and Yearly Reports. (From the same.) 

BERLIN. 

1. Die Wadzeck Anstalt in Berlin. Jahresberichte im Jahre, 1834-35. 
Statuten der Wadzeck Anstalt, 1834. Description of the Wadzeck Institution for 
Infants. Yearly Reports for 1834 and 1835. Statutes of the Institution, 1834. 
(From the Inspector of the House.) 

2. Sacular Feier des Schindlerschen Waisenliauses, 1830. Secular Festival of 
Schindler's Orphan-house, 1830, (From Rev. Mr. Kloden.) 

3. Relation de I'Ecole de Charite k Berlin, en 1836. Account of tlie Charity 
School in Berlin, in 1836. (From the Steward oftiie French Orphan-house.) 

4. Grundsatze nach welchen die hiesigen Erwerbschulen eingcrichtet sind, 
1833, Principles according to which the Schools of Industry have been estab- 
lished, 1833. (From Mr. Neufind.) 

5. Studcnplan der Elemcntarschulen, Nrn, 5, 7, und 8, in 1837. Plan of in- 
struction in the Elementary Schools, Nos, 5, 7, and 8, in 1837, (MS.) With 
specimens of writing. (From Messrs, Pfeiffer, Schaniz, Vogeler, and Hilbert, 
teachers.) 

80 



^ 



634 APPENDIX. 

6. Studenplan und Lehrbflcher in der Dorotheenschule. Course of study and 
text-books used in the Dorotliean School, in 1837, (MS.) Specimens of writing". 
(From Director Zinnow.) 

7. Nachricht iiber die Einrichtung des Seminars fllr Stadtschulen zu Berlin, 

1836, Description of the Normal School in Berlin for training teachers for the 
City Schools, 1836. (From Dr. Diesterweg.) 

8. Zweck und Einrichtung der Koniglichen Seminarschule in Berlin, 1836. 
Purpose and general plan of the Royal Seminary School in Berlin, 1836. (From 
the same.) 

9. Stundenplan und Lchrgcgcnstandc am Friedrich Willielm Gymnasium, 

1837. Course of study and subjects of instruction at the Frederick William 
Gymnasium, in 1837, (MS.) (From Director Spilleke.) 

10. Lcctionsplan fiir das Schullchrer Seminar in Berlin, 1837. Course of study 
at the Normal School in Berlin, 1837. (From the same.) 

11. Zvvcck, Einrichtung, und Lehrplan des Colnischen Real Gymnasium. 
Verzeiehniss der Lehrbiichcr. Nachrichten uber das Gymnasium, 1829-30-32-33 
-37. Purpose, plan, and course of study at the Cologne Real Gymnasium, 1829- 
30-32-33-37. (From Director August.) 

12. Uber Zweck und Lehrgegenstande des Gewerbeschule, 1825. On the pur- 
pose and the subjects of Instruction in the Trades' School, 1825. (From Direc- 
tor Kloden.) 

13. Nachricht an das Publikum iiber den Zweck und die Einrichtungcn der 
Gewerbeschule. Address to the Public on the Purpose and Plan of the Trades' 
School, 1830. (From tlie same.) 

14. An die Eltern derjenigen Schuler welche die stiidtische Gewerbeschule be- 
suchen, 1830. Address to the Parents of Pupils who frequent the Trades' School, 
1830. (From the same.) 

15. Programm zur Priifung der Zoglinge der Gewerbeschule, 1830-32-33-37. 
Prospectuses of the Examination of Pupils of the Trade School, 1830-32-33-37. 
(From the same.) 

16. Uber die Fortbildung der Gewerbtriebenden ausser der Schule. On the 
Continuation of Instruction of Adult Artisans, 1827. (From the same.) 

17. Verzeiehniss des Personals und des Studirenden auf der KOniglichen Fried- 
rich Wilhelm Universitat in 1837. List of OfScers and Students at the Royal 
University in 1837. 

18. Verzeiehniss der Vorlesungcn welche auf der Universitat in 1837, gehal- 
ten werden. List of Lectures which are to be delivered at the University in 
1837. 

19. Zweck und Gegenstande des Unterriehts in dem KOniglichen Gewerbe In- 
stitut. Purpose and Subjects of Instruction in the Royal Institute for Arts 
and Manufactures. (From Councillor Beuth.) 

20. Lcctionsplan und Textbiicher in dem Koniglichen Gewerbe Institut. 
Course of Study and Text-books used in the Royal Institute for Arts and Ma- 
nufactures. (From the same.) 

21. Nachricht iiber die Eiselenschen Anstalten fiir allgemeine Leibes mid 
Fechtubungen, 1831. Description of Eiselen's Institution for Gymnastics and 
Fencing, 1831. (From Mr. Eiselen.) 



DOCUMENTS FROM PRUSSIA. '635 

BUNZLAU. 

1. Das Waisenhaus zu Bunzlau in Schlesien in seiner Geschichte von der 
Stiftung bis zum Jahre, 1814, darg-estellt. History of the Orphan-house at 
Bunzlau since its origin up to 1814. (From Inspector Kruger.) 

2. Nachricht liber das Seminar und die Konigliche Waisen und Schulanstalt zu 
Bunzlau. Notes on the Normal School, and the Royal Orphan-house and School 
at Bunzlau, from the year 1830 to 1834. (From the same.) 

3. Geschichte der KOnigl. Waisen und Schulanstalt und des Seminars zu 
Bunzlau nebst kurzer Darstellung der jetzigen Einrichtung der ganzen Anstak, 
1837. History of the Royal Orphan-liouse, and the Normal and Burgher School 
connected with it, besides a short description of the present organization of the 
whole institution, 1837. (From the same.) 

ERFURT. 

Hausordnung und Stundenplan des Konigl. Schullehrer Seminars in Erfurt, 
1832. Order of the House, Distribution of Time, and Course of Study in the 
Normal School at Erfurt, 1832. 

HALLE. 

1. Beschreibung des Hallischen Waisenhauses und der -iibrigen damit verbun- 
denen Frankischen Stiftungen, 1799. Description of the Orphan-house at 
Halle, and of all the other Foundations, by Franke, connected with it, 1799. 

2. Verzeichniss aller Anstalten unter dem Namen Frankesche Stiftungen und 
Anzahl von Lehrern und Schiilern, 1837. List of all the Institutions under the 
name of Franke's Foundations, and number of Teachers and Pupils, 1837. (MS.) 
(From Dr. Nieraeyer, Director.) 

3., Stundenplan, Tagesordnimg, Textbiicher und jilhrliche Ausgaben des 
Waisenhauses, 1837, Course of Study, Distribution of Time, list of Text-books, 
and Yearly Expenses of the Orphaif-house, 1837. (From the same.) 

4. Belehrung fiir diejenigen welche die Aufnahme von Vaterlosen in die 
Waisenanstalt der Frankeschen Stiftungen nachsuchen, 1836. Instruction for 
those who request the admission of Fatherless Children into the Orphan-house 
of Franke's Foundations, 1836. (From the same.) 

5. Ordnungen und Gesetze fur die ZOglinge der Waisenanstalt. Laws and 
Regulations for the Pupils of the Orphan-house. (From Dr. Leibmann.) 

6. Programm der Offentlichen Prufung der Biirgerschule in den Franke- 
schen Stiftungen, 1836. Programme of the Public Examination of the Burgher 
School belonging to Franke's Foundations, 1836. (From Inspector Trothe.) 

7. Nachricht iiber die hohere Realschule welche den 4ten Mai, 1835, im 
Waisenhause zu Halle erOffnet werden soil. Notice relating to the opening of 
a higher Real School in the Orphan-house at Halle, the 4th of May, 1835. (From 
Dr. Niemeyer.) 

8. Kurzer Bericht von dem Einrichtung und den Kosten in der mit der Latein- 
schen Schule, und der hohern Realschule verbundenen Erziehungsanstalt im 
Waisenhause zu Halle. Short Description of the Organization and the Expenses 
of the Boarding-house connected with the Latin School and the higher Reai 
School in the Orphan house at Halle, 1837. (From the same.) 



636 APPENDIX. 

9. Programm zur OfFentlichen Priifung im der Latcinischcn Hauptschule zu 
Halle, 1837. Programin of the Public Examination of the Latin School (Gym- 
nasium) belonging- to Franke's Foundations, 1837. (From Dr. Schmidt.) 

10. Ordnungen und Gesetzc filr die Scholaren des KOniglichen Padagogiums. 
Laws and Regulations for tlie Pupils of the Royal Pedagogium, (belonging to 
Franke's Foundations.) (From Dr. Niemeyer.) 

11. Ubersicht der Winterlectioncn im KoniglichenPadagogium, 1837-38. Ta- 
ble of the Course of Lectures during the Winter Term in the Royal Pedagogium, 
1837-38. (From the same.) 

12. Schulgesetze fiir das KOnigliche Padagogium. Laws for the Royal Pada- 
gogium. (From the same.) 

13. Bericlit ilber das Konigliche Padagogium zu Halle, 1837. Report on the 
Royal Pedagogium ad Halle, 1837. (From Dr. Niemeyer.) 

14. Index Scholarum in Univcrsitate Halensi per hiemcm, 1837-38, habenda- 
rum. Courses of Lectures to be delivered during the Winter Term of 1837-38. 

15. Gedanken iiber die jetsige Gymnasial Verfassung im Konigreich Preus- 
sen, von Dr. H. A. Niemeyer, 1838. Thoughts in Relation to the Present Orga- 
nization of the Prussian Gymnasia, 1836, by Dr. H. A. Niemeyer. (From 
the author.) 

16. ijbcr die Nothwendigkeit einer Reform im Gymnasial LTnterricht, von Dr. 
M. Schmidt. On the Necessity of a Reform in the Studies of the Gymnasia, by 
Dr. M. Schmidt. (From the author.) 

MCEHS. 

Stundenplan und Textbtxcher des Seminars zu Mdrs, 1837. Course of Study 
and List of Text-books used in the Normal School at M(jers, 1832. (From Mr, 
Zahn, Director.) 

PFORTA. 

1. Die Landesschule Pforta ihrcr gegenwartigen und ehemaligen Verfassung 
nach dargestellt von Sclnnidt, 1814. Description of the School Pforta in its for- 
mer and present organization, by Schmidt, 1814. 

2. Bekanntmachung fur Eltern und Vormiinder die ihre Kinder der Landes- 
schule Pforta iibergeben wollen, 1832. Notice given to Parents and Guardians 
who wish to send their Children to School at Pforta, 1832. (From Director 
Kirchner.) 

3. Jahresbericht ttber die KOnigl. Landesschule Pforta, 1 837. Yearly Report 
on the Royal School at Pforta, 1837. (From the same.) 

P0TSDA3I. 

1. Geschichte des Koniglichen Potsdamschen Militar-Waisenhauses von 
seiner Entstehung bis 1824. History of the Royal Military Orphan-house in 
Potsdam, from its origin to 1 824. (From the War Department.) 

2. Hausordnung des KOniglichen grossen Militiir-Waiscnliauses in Potsdam, 
1838. Internal Regulations of the Royal IMilitary Orphan-house at Potsdam. 
(From the same.) 

3. Kurze Darstellung der Organisation der IMiern Biirgerschule in Potsdam, 



DOCUMENTS PROM SAXONY. 637 

1835. Short Description of the Organization of the Higher Burgher School in 
Potsdam, 1835. (From Rector Loffler.) 

4. Programm ziir Offentlichen Prtifung im Militilr-Waisenhaus in 1819-22. 
Programme of the Public Examination in the Military Orphan-house in 1819- 
22. (From the Rev. Mr. Mcrkus.) 

5. Die Civil Waisen Vcrsorgungs Anstalt zu Potsdam, 1836. Description of 
the Institution for Orphans of Civil Officers in Potsdam, 1836. (From Councillor 
Von Turk.) 

6. Die Waisen Vcrsorgungs Anstalt fur die Provinz Brandenburg zu Klein 
Glienicke bei Potsdam, 1833-35. Exemplare von Handschriflen. Statutes of the 
Institution for Orphans in the Province of Brandenburg at Klein Glienicke, 
near Potsdam, 1 833-35. Specimens of hand-writing, &:,c. (From the same.) 

7. Programm der Offentlichen Prufung in der Hohcrn Biirgerschule, 1836-37. 
Programme of the Public Examination in the Higher Burgher School, in 1836 
and 1837. (From Rector Lofflcr.) 

8. Nachriclit von der Einrichtung dcs Schullchrcr Seminars zu Potsdam, 1835, 
On the Organization of the Normal School at Potsdam, 1835. (From Director 
Hientsch.) 

WEISSENFELS. 

1. Description of the Normal School at Weissenfels, 1838, (MS.) (From 
Dr. Harnisch, Director.) 

2. List of Text-books used at the Normal School, (MS.) (From the same.) 

3. Fur Eltern welche ihre Sohne fiir den Schulstand vorbereiten lassen wol- 
len, 1837. Address to Parents who wish to have their Sons prepared for Admis- 
sion into the Normal School, 1837. (From the same.) 

4. Das Weissenfelser Schullehrer-Seminar und seine Hulfsanstalten, von 
dem Director Dr. W. Harnisch, 1837. The Seminary for Teachers at Weisen. 
fels, and the institutions connected -with it, 1838, by Dr. W. Harnisch. (From 
the same.) 

SAXONY. 

1. Elementar Volksschulgesetz fiir Sachsen, 1835. Law for Elementary In- 
struction in Saxony, 1835. 

2. Die Obliegenheiten und Geschafte der Sachsichen Volks Schullehrer. Du- 
ties of Elementary Teachers in Saxony. (From Inspector Lohrmann.) 

DRESDEN. 

1. Geschichte und Verfassung des Dresdener Schulwesens, 1836, History and 
Organization of Public Instruction in Dresden, 1836. (From Mr. Vorwerk.) 

2. iJbersicht aller Offentlichen Schulen in Sachsen, 1833. List of all the Pub- 
lic Schools in Saxony, 1833. (From Inspector Lohrmann.) 

3. Bericht uber den Padagogischcn Verein zu Dresden, 1836. Report of the 
Pedagogical Society at Dresden, 1838. (From the Society.) 

4. Die Pflichten der Scbulgemeinden in Sachsen, Duties of the Scliool Com- 
munes in Saxony. 



638 APPENDIX. 

5. Die Schule und das Schullehrer Seminar zu Friedrichstadt Dresden, von 
1785 bis 1835. The Normal School and Elementary Schools connected with it 
in Dresden, from 1785 to 1835. 

6. Staats Handbuch fur Sachsen, 1837. State Manual for Saxony, 1837. 
(From Inspector Lohrmann.) 

7. Stundenplan ftlr die Katholische Gymnasialanstalt und Hauptschule. 
Plan of Instruction in the Roman Catholic Gymnasium and High School. (From 
Father Dietrich.) 

8. Nachrichten ilber die Erziehungs Anstalt von Dr. Blochmann, 1837. Re- 
ports on the Blochmann Gymnasium. (From Dr. Peters.) 

9. Organisationsplan und Gesetze filr Schiller der Technischen Bildungs An- 
stalt, 1835. Organization and Laws for Pupils of the Tcchnicallnstitution, 1835. 
(From Inspector Lohrmann.) 

10. Programm zui OfTentlichen Priifung in der Technischen Bildungs Anstalt. 
Programme for the Public Examination at the Technical Institution, 1836 and 
1837. (From the same.) 

11. Lehrplan der Technischen Bildungs Anstalt, 1837. Plan of Instruction at 
the Technical Institution, 1837. (From the same.) 

12. Gesetze fiir Schiiler der Technischen Bildungs Anstalt zu Dresden, 1835. 
Laws for the Pupils of the Technical Institution at Dresden, 1835. (From the 
same.) 

13. Regulativ und Stundenplan fiir die K. S. Militair Bildungs Anstalt, 1838. 
Regulations and Plan of Instruction at the Royal Military Academy, 1838. 
(From Captain Ortel.) 

FREYBERG. 

1. Jahrbuch fiir den Berg und Hiittenmann, fiir 1831-37-38. Annual for Mi- 
ners, 1831-37-38, containing Reports of the School of Mines. 

2. Regulativ fiir die K. S. Berg Akademie zu Freybcrg, 1831. Regulations for 
the Royal Academy for Miners at Freyberg, 1838, (MS.) (From Professor Reich.) 

3. Inscriptionsschein und Verhaltungs Regelu fiir die Beneficiaten bey der 
K. S. Berg Akademie zu Freyberg. Form of Inscription and Regulations for the 
Free Pupils of the Royal Academy for Miners at Freyberg. (From the same.) 

LEIPSIC. 

1. Beschreibung der Rathsfreischule in Leipzig. Description of the Free 
School, called Rathsfreischule, in Lcipsic. (From Director Dolz.) 

2. Erste Nachricht tiber die beabsichtigte Organisation des Bilrger Schulwe- 
sens in Leipzig. Exposition of a projected Organization of Instruction for the 
Middle Tanks of Leipsic, 1833. 

3. Schulerbestand und Schulbticher der Biirgerschule, 1838. Number of Pu- 
pils and List of Text-books of the Burgher School, 1838, (MS.) (From Director 
Vogel.) 

4. Regulativ fiir die Schule der Polytechnischcn Gesellschafl. Regulations 
for the School established by the Polytechnical Society. (From the same.) 

5. Regulativ und Lehrplan des OfTentlichen Handels Lehranstalt. Regulations 
and Plan of Instruction at the Public Commercial School. 



DOCUMENTS FROM WEIMAR AND VVURTEMBERG. 639 

MEISSEN. 

Jahresbericht (iber die K. Landesschule zu Meissen, 1837. Annual Report 
of the Royal Gymnasium at Meissen. (From Consul Rivinus.) 

STRUPPEN. 

Tagesordung,Stundcnplan, und Speisezettel ftir die Erziehungs Anstaltverwaise- 
ter Soldaten Kinder in Struppen bei Dresden, 1838. Distribution of Time, Plan 
of Instruction, and Table of Diet at the School for Soldiers' Orphans in Struppen 
near Dresden, 1838. (From the Minister of War of Saxony.) 

WEIMAR. 

JEXA. 
Gesetze fiir die Studirenden dcr Universitiit Jena, 1831. Laws and Regula- 
tions for the Students at the University of Jena, 1831. 

WEIMAR. 

1. Jahresbericht iiber den Zustand und die Leistungen des GrossherzogL 
Waisen Instituts von den Jahren, 1829-33-37. Annual Report on the State and 
Progress of the Orphan Institution, during the years 1829-33-37. (From Dr. 
Kohler.) 

2. Form eines Alimentations Contrakts abgeschlossen bei der Direction des 
Waisen Instituts. Form of Contract between the Direction of the Orphan Insti- 
tution at Weimar and a Foster-master. (From the same.) 

3. Programm zur Offentlichen Priifung in der Bilrgerschule, fiir 1833-34-37. 
Programme for the Public Examination at the Burgher School, for 1833-34-37. 
(From Director Schweitzer.) 

4. Stundenverzeichniss des Seminars und der Burgerschule, 1838. Exemplare 
von handschriflen. Plan of Instruction of the Normal School and Burgher School, 
1838. Specimens of hand- writing. (From the same.) 

WURTEMBERG. 

Gesetz betreffend die Volks Schulen in Wiirtemberg, 1837. Law in relation 
to Common Schools in Wurtemberg, 1837. 

ESSLINGEN. 

Statuten und Lehrgegenstande des K. Schullehrer Seminars in Esslingen, 1831. 
Statutes and Plan of Instruction of the R. Normal School at Esslingen, 1831,. 
(From Director Denzel.) 

HOHENHEIM. 

1. Ubersicht xiber die K. Lehranstalt fiir Land und Forstwirtlischafl zu Hoiien- 
heim, 1834. Description of the Royal Institution for Agriculture and Forestry 
at Hohenheim, 1834. (From Mr. Oppel.) 

2. Nachricht fiir diejenigen welche die K. Lehranstalt zu Hohenheim besu- 
chen wollen. Address to those who intend to become Pupils of tlie Institutioa 
at Hohenheim. (From the same.) 



640 APPENDIX. 

3. Verzeichniss der Candidaten zu Holienheim von 1818 bis 183G. List of Pu- 
pils at Hohenheim from the year 1818 till 1S3G. (From the same.) 

STETTEiV. 

1. Die Griindung und ErOffnung der Erziehungsanstalt in Stetten, 1831. Des- 
cription of the establishment of a Boarding-school at Stetten, 1831. 

2. Bedingungen der aufnahme von Zoglingen in die Erziehungsanstalt zu 
Stetten. Conditions for admission of Pupils into the Boarding-sehool at Stetten. 

3. Berichte iibcr die Erziehungsanstalt in Stetten, 1832 und 1838. Reports 
of Boarding-school at Stetten, for the years 1832 and 1838. 

STUTTGARD. 

1. Nachrichten von dcm K, Waisenhause in den Jahren, 1832 bis 183G. Re- 
ports on the Orphan-house, from the year 1832 to 1836. (From Director Zoller.) 

2. Verzeichniss der Unterrichtsstunden dcs Obern Gymnasium, 1837. Plan of 
Instruction of the Higher Gymnasium, 1837. (From Professor Reinbeck.) 

ITALY. 

BOLOGNA. 

1. Regolamento sulle Scuole pie. Regulations for the Elementary Schools, 
called Pious Schools. (From Professor Gherardi.) 

2. Raccolta d'Istruzioni sugli Studii. Collection of Regulations in relation to 
Instruction, 1833. (From the same.) 

3. Regolamento degli Studii da osservarsi in Roma, e in tutto lo Stato Eccle- 
siastico, 1825. Regulations in relation to Instruction to be observed in Rome, and 
throughout the States of the Church, 1825. (From the same.) 

FLORENCE. 

1. Short Account of the Orplian-house, (MS.) (From Mr. Ombrosi, Consul 
of the United States.) 

2. Catalogus Scholarum Piarum. Catalogue of Pious Schools, and Plan of In- 
struction ill them, 1830. (From the same.) 

3. Plan of Instruction at the Scuole Pie at Florence. (From Pater Georgi.) 

4. Statuti c Metodo d'Istruzioni per I'Accademia delle Belle Arti di Firenze, 
1813. Statutes and Method of Instruction at the Academy of Fine Arts, 1813. 

MILAN. 

1. Spese degli Asili di Carita per I'lnfanzia in Milano, 1838. Expenses of the 
Infant Schools In Milan, 1838. (From the Marquis Beccaria.) 

2. Discipline da osservarsi per le sale di Custodia dei Fanciulli Minori degli 
anni 6. Regulations for Infant Schools. (From Mr. Radaelli.) 

3. Guida pei Fondatori e Dircttori delle Scuole Infantili di Caritii. Guide 
for Founders and Directors of Infant Schools, 1836. (From the same.) 

4. Intorno alia Fondazione ed alio Stato attuale degli Asili di Carita, per I'ln- 
fanzia in Milano. On the Foundation and Present Condition of Infant Schools 
in Milan, 1837. 



'm 



DOCUMENTS FROM ITALV. 641 



5. Manuale di Educaziono ed Ammaestramento pelle Scuole Infantili, 1833. 
Manual for the Education and Government in Infant Schools, 1833. (From the 
same.) 

6. Istruzioni pei Maestri e per le Maestre delle Scuole Elementari Minori. 
Regulations for the Male and Female Teachers of the Lower Elementary 
Schools. (From the same.) 

7. Regolamento ed Istruzione per le Scuole Elementari. Laws and Regula- 
tions for the Elementary Schools. (From the same.) 

8. Statistica della Istruzione Elementare nelle Provincei Austriachi Italiane. 
Statistics of the Elementary Instruction in the Italian Provinces of Austria. 
(From the Department of Public Instruction.) 

9. Inviti al Pubblico Esame nelle Scuole Maggiore, maschile e femminile di 
Milano, e della tutta la Provincia di Lombardia, indicante gli Individue impiegati 
nella Scuole e loro Incumbenze, le Matcrie d'Insegnamento, ore Destinate a ci- 
ascuna di esse e Numero delle Alunne nelle diverse Classi, 1836-37-38. Pro- 
gramme of the Public Examination of the Higher and Lower Male and Female 
Elementary Schools in Milan, and in the whole Province of Lombardy, giving a 
list of all the Teachers, the Subjects of Instruction, the Time devoted to each 
Subject, and the number of Pupils in the different Classes, 1836-37-38. (From 
Mr. Cherubini.) 

10. Notice sur I'Histoire de I'Instruction Publique en Lombardie. Historical 
Notice of Public Instruction in Lombardy, (MS.) (From the same.) 

11. Per gli Esami degli Scolari ammaestrati secondo il Metodo Normale 
nella Chiesa di Brera, 1789. Programme of the Public Examination of the Pu- 
pils of the Model School of the Brera, 1789. (From Mr. Cherubini, Director of 
the High School at Milan.) 

12. Istruzione pei Maestri di Disegno nolle Scuole Elementari Maggiori. 
Regulations for the Drawing Masters in the Higher Elementary Schools. (From 
Mr. Radaelli.) 

13. Regolamento per I'lstituto Elementare e Ginnasiale Privilcgiato nelle 
Contradi di Brera. Regulations for the Elementary and Latin School in Brera 
Street, 1838. 

14. Regolamento per la Scuola Elementai'e di Boselli. Regulations for Mr. 
Boselli's Elementary School. 

15. Norme per la Istituzione della Scuola Ginnasiale Privata di Boselli. Re- 
gvdations and Course of Studies of the Private Latin School of Mr. Boselli. 

16. Informazionc del Ginnasio Convitto, Calchi Taeggi. Regulations for the 
Convent, called Calchi Taeggi, 1830. 

17. Convitto di Educazione Femminile di IMorand. Prospectus of Miss Mo- 
rand's Convent for Female Education. 

18. Casa di Civile Educazione per le Fanciulle di Bellotti. Mr. Bellotti's Board- 
ing-school for Girls. 

19. Stabilemento d'Istruzione Elementare, Ginnasiale e di Commercio di Lam- 
bartini, 1836. Prospectus of Lambartini's Elementary, Latin, and Commercial 
School. 

81 



642 APPENDIX. 



•1 



NAPLES. 

1. Specimen of Writing from the Orphan-house of the Albergo dei Poveri, 

2. Kalendarium Regii Archigymnasii Neopolitani, 1838. Almanac of the Royal 
University at Naples, 1838. (From the President of the University.) 

3. Progetto di Riforme pel regolamento della Pubblica Istruzione, 1838. Pro- 
jected Reform in the Regulations for Public Instruction, 1838. (From the same.) 

PADUA. 

Prospetto degli studj della Universita di Padova, 1838. Courses of Lectures 
at the University of Padua in 1838. 

PISA. 

Catalogus AcademisB Pisanre Professorum, 1837. List of the Professors of 
the University of Pisa, 1837. (From Professor Barzelotti.) 

ROME. 

1. Kalendarium Collegii Romani Societatis Jesu, 1838. Almanac of the Ro- 
man College of the Jesuits, for 1836. 

2. Index Facultatum Tradendarum in Romano Societatis Jesu Collegio, 1829. 
Course of Studies at the Roman College, 1829. 

3. Catalogus Universitatis Studiorum Romanse, 1808. List of the Courses of 
Lectures at the University of Rome in 1838. 

TURIN. 

1. Raccolta dei Sovrani Prowedimenti che reggono gli Studii fuori dell'Uni- 
versitci. Collection of Regulations in relation to Public Instruction, independent 
of the University, 1834. 

2. Condotta delle Scuole Cristiane, 1834. Organization of the Schools under 
the Superintendence of the Christian Brethren, 1834, 

3. Calendarium et Libri ad Usum Scholarum Provincialium, 1835. Almanac 
and list of Text-Books for the Provincial Schools, 1835. (From Mr. Sobrero, 
Secretary of the University.) 

4. Elenchus Clarissimorum Professorum Regii Archigymnasii Taurinensis et 
rerum quas docebunt, 1837-38. List of Professors and Courses of Studies at the 
Royal University, 1837-38. (From the same.) 

5. Regolamento per le University, di Torino e di Genova, 1822. Regulations 
for the Universities of Turin and Genoa, 1822. (From the same.) 

6. Reorii Lettere patenti vietande di recarsi senza permesso in paese estero ad 
intraprendervi od a continuarvi gli studii, 1832. Royal Order, prohibiting to study 
at foreign Universities without special permission, 1832. (From the same.) 

7. Manifesti del Magistrato della Riforma sopra Studi, 1822 et 1834. Regula- 
tions made by the Board of Reform in relation to Instruction, 1822 to 1834. 
(From the same.) 

8. Calendario Scolastico della Universita, 1837-38. Almanac of the Royal 
University, 1837-38. (From the same.) 

9. Stato Numerico degli Studenti inscritti sul registru della rassegna nelfa 



DOCUMENTS FROM ITALY. 643 

R. University, 1837-38. Number of Students at the Royal University in 1837- 
38. (From the same.) 

10. TarifFa degli Emolumenti per li Gradi Academici e di varii altri dritti. 
Tariff of Expenses for the Academical Degrees, and other Expenses. (From 
the same.) 

11. Matriculation and other Certificates of the University. (From the same.) 

VENICE. 

1. Oraria della Casa degli Orfani, 1838. Distribution of Time at the Orphan- 
house, 1838. (From Baron Pascatori.) 

2. Regolamento Disciplinale-Economico per I'Instituto degli Esposti di Ve- 
nezia, 1836. Regulations of the Foundling Hospital of Venice, 1836. (From the 
same.) 

3. Regolamento per le Scuole Infantili di Carita in Venezia. Regulations for 
the Infant Schools in Venice. (From the same.) 

4. Numero delle Scuole Maggiore et Minori nella Villa di Venezia, 1838. 
Number of Higher and Lower Elementary Schools in Venice, 1838. (From the 
same.) 

5. Tabella Generale indicante le Occupazioni degli Allievi della Scuola Na- 
vale, 1835-36. General List of the Occupations of the Pupils of the Naval School, 
1833-36. (From Director Bordini.) 

No. II. 

EXTRACT FROM THE HISTORY OF THE ORPHAN HOSPITAL OF 
EDINBURGH. 

Referred to on page 12 of the Report. 

" In regard to the original princij^e and inherent tendency of such an institu- 
tion. * * * 

" It is neither to be denied nor disguised, that, among the multitude of charita- 
ble establishments wliich exist in this country, there may be some, which, origi- 
nating in a very sincere but short-sighted philanthropy, do actually not conduce to 
the real and permanent interests of society ; by which, especially in certain in- 
stances, some of the very evils may be multiplied which they were instituted to 
remedy, and of which the strong description that has been given may be but too 
true — 'that they are little better than a tax upon industry for the support of 
idleness.' 

"With such institutions, however, an establishment like the Orphan Hospital is 
neither to be confounded nor compared; provided always, that the original object 
be steadily kept in view, and that it be fenced and protected by the most rigid 
attention to the nature of every claim which is made upon its funds. The cir- 
cumstances of misfortune and distress, which it professes to meet, are such as 
are involuntary, inevitable, and irremediable by other means. This statement no 
doubt assumes that the persons admitted to the benefits of the institution are 
those who, by any of the sudden and overwhelming visitations of Providence to 
which mankind are liable, have in early life been deprived of their parents, and 



644 APPENDIX. 

precipitated into a state of entire lielplessness and destitution, without a relation 
that possesses the means, or an individual on whom the obligation lies of becom- 
ing their guardians and protectors, and of supplying them tlie place of parents, 
and for whose support and education no other provision of any kind whatever ex- 
ists, or can be called into operation. And this is the real and only class for whom 
the Orphan Hospital is designed. Whilst no man in possession of his senses will 
voluntarily make his children orphans — while every sane man, on the contrary, 
will strive to ward off that event by which they would become so, it is evident 
that there exists in nature itself a certain safeguard against the extension of the 
evils for which such an institution is intended to provide a remedy, and against 
the spontaneous establishment of a claim to a participation in its benefits. As 
in the case of life insurance, where a posthumous advantage is secured by an an- 
nual payment, a man, from the mere love of liie, and the principle of self-preser- 
vation, would wish to make the worst pecimiary bargain that is possible ; so, in 
general, will evory human being struggle to keep his children, by the interval of 
as great a distance as he can, from coming within the range of the benefits of an 
orphan hospital." 

No. III. 

REGULATIONS OF HERIOT'S HOSPITAL. 

Referred to on Page 19 of the Report. 

Regulations enacted by the governors of George Hcriot's Hospital, upon the 
13th day of October, 1834, as to the superintendence to be exercised over the 
boys at their leaving the institution and afterwards. 

1. That a list be made up and submitted to the governors in the months of 
April and October, annually, (the periods of the election of new boys,) of those 
boys that are to leave the house in the June and December following, with a re- 
port from the house-governor applicable to each boy, of the progress in education 
he may have made, of his dispositions, and stating whether any and what parti- 
cular talent the boy may have shown. 

2. That the parents or other relations of the boys that are to leave the house 
in June and December, shall be required to state to the treasurer, for the infor- 
mation and approval of the governors, at least one month before these respective 
periods, what profession or trade each proposes that the boy they are connected 
with shall follow — who is the master they propose to bind him to — the terms 
with the master — and, in particular, whether the master is willing to maintain the 
boy in his family ; and no boy shall be bound apprentice, or receive any appren- 
tice fee, unless the governors shall previously approve of the trade or profession, 
the terms, and master proposed. 

3. Should the master not undertake the charge and maintenance of the boy in 
his family, then the parents or other relations of each boy sliall farther state 
with whom and by whom he is to remain and be maintained during his appren- 
ticeship; also for the information and approval of tlie governors. 

4. That annually, and before receiving payment of the ajiprcnticc fee, the mas- 
ters of the boys shall be required to give answers to the queries of which a copy 



heriot's hospital. •■ C45 

is hereto annexed. First, for the information of the governors, as to the dili- 
gence and conduct of the boy under his charge for tlie previous year; and if not 
in family with him, then the person with whom each boy stays shall, in like 
manner, be called upon to give answers to queries. Second, as to the boy's con- 
duct; and the boys themselves shall also annually be seen and examined upon 
the points or queries. Third, also hereto annexed; and it shall be made a con- 
dition in every indenture, that the master on the one hand, in the event of the 
boy's desertion, or being guilty of any flagrant act, and the boy on the other, in 
the event of his being turned away by his master, shall, within eight days, inti- 
mate the same to the treasurer of the hospital, otherwise each respectively shall 
forfeit all further allowance from the hospital. 

5. That a record shall be kept, by the treasurer, of the boys so bound appren- 
tices, and with whom, and under whose care each boy is to be during his ap- 
prenticeship, in which the preceding reports, or answers to queries, and any 
other facts, or circumstances which, during the course of the apprenticeship, 
may occur, relating either to the master or the boy, shall be engrossed; and 
which record shall, once a year at least, be laid before the governors, and at all 
times be open for their inspection. 

6. That the allowance of £5 for clothes, made by the governors to the boys at 
the end of their apprenticeship, or any other allowance which the governors may 
think proper to grant, shall be given or withheld, as the governors shall think 
proper, upon an examination of the record as above, and shall not be paid, as at 
present, upon the discharge of the indenture at its termination, by the master. 

7. That the indenture to be entered into under the approval of the governors, 
shall contain the precise terms which may have been agreed upon ; and in place 
of taking the master bound, as at present, to maintain the boy, where he shall 
not agree to do so, then the person who is to have charge of him shall, either in 
the indenture, or by a separate letter <of obligation, undertake to the governors 
the proper discharge of that duty. 

No. IV. 

QUERIES BY THE GOVERNORS OF HERIOT'S HOSPITAL. 

Referred to on page 19 of the Reports, and in the foregoing articles of the Appendix. 

FIRST. 

Queries to be answered yearly by the masters of boys educated in George 
Heriot's Hospital, during their apprenticeships: 

1. Is A. B., who went from George Heriot's Hospital to be your apprentice, 
still in your service; and, during the past year, has he ever deserted or been 
absent from your employment; and, if he has, when, for how long, and for what 
cause? 

2. How many hours is he engaged in your employment, and how are his re- 
maining hours, to the best of your knowledge, generally spent? 

3. Does he apply himself diligently to his business, and is he civil, faithful. 



646 APPENDIX. 

and obedient; and has he made such progress in his business as was fairly to be 
expected of him? 

4. Does he uniformly speak the truth, and are his associates proper com- 
panions? 

5. Wlien you have occasion to send him out in the way of business, does he 
return without unnecessary loss of time? 

6. If he resides in your family, does he submit to the order of your family, 
keep good hours, and regularly attend public worship, and in what church, and 
in other respects conduct himself properly? 

7. Is he cleanly in his person, orderly in his habits, and is his behaviour in 
general quiet and discreet, and sucli as you approve? 

SECOND. 
Queries to be annually answered by the persons with whom the boys reside, 
during the period of their apprenticeships: 

1. Has A. B., who was educated in George Heriot's Hospital, been a boarder 
with you, and for how long? 

2. Does he submit to the order of your family, and keep good hours; and how 
does he spend the hours he is not engaged in iiis business? 

3. Is he cleanly in his person, and orderly in his habits? 

4. Does he uniformly speak the truth, and are his associates proper com- 
panions? 

5. Does he regularly attend public worship, and in what church, and in other 
respects conduct himself properly, and in such a manner as you approve? 

THIRD. 

Queries to be annually put to the boys during their apprenticeships : 

1. How many hours are you engaged in your business daily, and how do you 
generally spend the remaining hours? 

2. What books have you read during the past year, and in particular, are you 
in the habit of reading a portion of the Scriptures daily ? 

3. What church do you attend, and have you been regular in your attendance? 

4. Have you prosecuted the studies you attended to in the hospital, and have 
you found any of these particularly useful to you in the business of life? 

5. With whom have you resided since leaving the hospital, and have you 
found yourself comfortable with him? 

6. What has been the state of your health? 

No. V. 

COURSES OF INSTRUCTION AND TEXT-BOOKS. 

Referred to on page 42 of the Report. 

A Course of Education for the Children of John Watson's Institution, Edin- 
burgh, proposed to the Directors by Mr. Charles Marshall, head-master. 

Sixth Year of Age. Alphabet, Lennie's Ladder. Seventh Year of Age. 
Reading, Lennie's Ladder, Sessional Reading Book. Writing, on slates. Arith- 



heriot's hospital. 047 

' metic, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division Tables. Eighth Year. 
Reading, Sessional School Book, New Testament. Writing, on slates. Arith- 
metic. Ground Rules. Geography, Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. Ninth 
Year. Reading, New Testament, First Collection, Thomson's Catechism. 
Writing, in copy-books. Arithmetic, Four Compound Rules and Reduction. 
Geography, Great Britain and Ireland. History, Modern. Tenth Year. Read- 
ing, First Collection, Bible, Shorter Catechism. Writing, in copy-books. Arith- 
metic, Simple and Compound Proportion. Geography, Norway, Sweden, and 
Russia. History, Scotland. Drawing, on slates. Eleventh Year. Reading, 
Bible, Second Collection, Proof Catechism, Grammar. Writing, in copy-books. 
Arithrnetic, Vulgar and Decimal Fractions. Geography, Prussia, Denmark, and 
Germany. History, England. Drawing, Sketching with black lead. General 
Knowledge, Science of Sounds. Ziaiin, Latin Rudiments and Delectus. Twelfth 
Year. Reading, Bible, M'Culloch's Collection, Proof Catechism, Grammar, 
English Composition. Writing, in Account-books. Arithmetic, Practice and 
Interest. Geography, France, Austria, Turkey in Europe, and Palestine. History, 
Ireland. Drawing, in water colours. General Knowledge, Mechanics, Optics, 
Zoology. Mathematics, Mensuration of Surfaces. Latin, Rudiments, Delectus, 
Cornelius Nepos, Turner's Exercises. Thirteenth Year. Reading, Bible, 
M'Culloch's Collection, Proof Catechism, Scripture, Biography, Grammar, Eng- 
lish Composition. Writing, in Account-book and Ornamental Writing. Arith- 
metic, Involution, Evolution, Exchange, Algebra. Geography, Italy, Switzerland, 
Spain, Portugal. History, France. Drawing, chalk and water colours. Gene- 
ral Knowledge, Chemistry, Pneumatics, Hydrostatics. Mathematics, Geometry, 
Mensuration of Solids, Heights, and Distances. Latin, Rudiments, Turner's Ex- 
ercises, Caesar, Ovid. Greek, Rudiments. Fourteenth Year. Reading, Bible, 
M'Culloch's Collection, Proof Catechism, Scripture Biography, Grammar, Eng- 
lish Composition. Writing, Ornamental Writing and Book-keeping. Algebra. 
Geography, Ancient. History, Ancient. Drawing, Maps, Landscapes, Figures. 
General Knowledge, Chemistry, Geology, Meteorology. Mathematics, Practical 
Land Surveying. Latin, Rudiments, Mair's Introduction, Ovid, Virgil, Livy. 
Greek, Rudiments, New Testament. 



G48 



^^- 



ATPENDIX. 



^ 


!-. 


c5 


n 


Cu 






C) 


O 


C) 


_G 








t-H-. 


Q 


O 


0) 


■xi 




G 




K! 


r> 










c 


■r^ 


o 


<T> 




r/1 


-o 


O 


". ^ 


Oi 


^^ 


o 


O 







'So 






n 


3 






-T-i 




O 


H 




<D 


o 




«*-. 


(15 




O 


£ 




T, 


GJ 




O 


-l~i' 








m 




rf 


^ 




o 



ci o 

o .S 

§^ 
3 o _: 

i2 O .J2 

a|| 

•5 o >» 



fcio 

c 

o 
ci 

_g 

o 

s 

o 
c 
.2 

o 
Ph 


1 


■PIOX 


to 


coo CO 


m 


" 


^^^ 


b< 


•-''-"-"-' j 


E- 


'-' 


rHrH-H 




'-^ 


l-H^rH 


H 


^ 


^«^ 


^ 


^ 


^^-, 


*" 


•[BJojL 


n-rnnnirt 


s 


«i-tff:iTTc-i^ 


1 


■["^oj. 


T5. T^f Tj< 


p^ 


CJ OJ <?} 


fe 


CJ C! (7J 


-(- 


•ITJJOX 


cc;t 


Ct-TC^lTC^I-t 


s 


«l* 


«wrtn-«it 


* 


•F^oX 


.-Ji-^;C4 


—'/ri — .ci i-c^ 


oj 


^'i^i' 


'-:?l r-ci -h;-) 


S 


•l^^oj. 


il^'Z^'ill^' 


•—M -!TJ .-IC) 


H 


n['tc':lT c:\rt 


MitWfrtC-lT 


E- 


«WKW«I* 


cc[Tc^lTe:irr 




•PJOJ. 


'^n -<7l '-i?! 




e- 


e^T^lTKl-t 


niTj-m-TKit 


t< 


cittmrrmt 


WTKlTWjTf 




•moj. 


lO lO lO lO o 


i^ lO to 


b 


i-H r— 1 1— 1 >-H T— 1 


rH 1— 1 T-H 


H 


^r-, rt ^rH 


1— ( 1-H 1— 1 


^ 


i-H rH 1— t i-H -^ 


rHrHrH 


H 


I— ( i-H I— I 1— 1 i-H 


r-.^^ 


S 


I— 1 1— 1 l-( I— ( 1— 1 


r-l T-H rH 


ti: 


•Fioj, 


1-H —1 -<# -* -^ 


r-*ri -4?) ,-ci 

-^J* '^ -^ 


&• 


..^^r^M T-ffIHUH?l 


r^Tlr^CTr-iW 


^ 


HJJr^iW ^Cl-^CT--':?t 


"ICl rHiJi -^CJ 


s 


--•CT T-'^^^ ^■71 -^01 — ^ I 


rflCI -^i?) -!?! 




•li^loX 


r^l HOI ^71 "IT 

t~ 00 tr> fo o oj 
(M „ ,-, _ rt 


■^ ^ ^ 


oi 


— :i — ci -<ci --tn 
-1* — ( -^ (Tj 


&i 


^ CO C<5 (N (M (?J 


f^ 


t-lcj ^.Qt n\t 

"* CO CJ C} (?Q <?J 


C^CJCJ 


^ 


'* CO fO CJ (>» c^ 1 


H 


r^OI r-'JI KIT- 

■^ CO O! CJ CI (M 


CJCJCJ 


g 


■* CO CO CJ C! ^ 


•HMiHMr*) 


Classi- 
fication 
ofChil- 


a 


•soSy 


y: t- QO a: o -^ 


CJ CO Tl< 

I-H I-H 1-H 


SUOTSIAIQ 


Seel 

I. 

II. 
III. 

Sec. 2 

I. 

II. 
III. 


Sec. 3 

I. 

II. 
III. 


o 

c 
.2 6 

3 2 

s 


•sjnoj^ 


t^0005O5Oi-lCJrtrt 

o 

I- t--^ QO rs CS O .-H CJ I-H 


CO »o to t- P-'qo CO c: 
^co uo «fl r- t- 00 00 


Household du- 
ties. Teaching, 
and Play. 


Washing and 
dressing. 

Prayers, 
Teaching, 

Breakfast, 
Play, 

Teaching, 
Play, 

Teaching, 
Dinner, 
Play, 

Teaching, 
Play, 

Teaching, 
Supper, 

Play, 
Prayers, 
Washing and ) 
going to bed, ^ 



TABULAR VIEW OF THE HOURS OF EMPLOYMENT, &C. 649 



o o o 



S o 
OH 



I go 



m to 
o o 



o o 

1-H -* 



,£0 



S 2 2 p" 
a <N CO ^ 



00 o 
o o 



O O 

C5 CO 



ITS --H ^ 

2 5" 

-f O -O 
.-(Ph 



O O 



o o 



CO r^ 

O (U 

-^ s 



CO 






CO CD 

O O 



2 ° 

C3 t-< 



o o 



^> 



^ '^ t< OJO 

" . V3 C 

o j'Pi 3 

• • . ^ Si m" 
.£ *. Si (i o 

^ I 3 «i^ 



i «2 



'^ rt* x" S -d 
;-i o cc u 

O '^ T3 






s -0 a 




cJ c- op 




- 1 -^- 


■^ 2 






'inter. 
8. Sell 
ections 

s in th 
3 a wcel 


VII. on 

ing. 
oys are 


IS ^ " 3 £ 


-^ g-" 


.S^^o^^l 




IS&^il 


^oi 






s X .i •= 




-M -J S 2P 






^ .-^ci_>.5 




^?:-^ . tD|> 
















oQ m C -3 




« s^ii 








f^s s.^ S 








g " *^ * - 




•2 >.rt ^.ij 







82 



G50 APPENDIX. 

LIST OF TEXT-BOOKS USED AT HERIOT'S HOSPITAL, EDIN- 
BURGH. 

English Department. Sessional School Books, Nos. 1 and 2, National School 
Collection, Stewart's History of Scotland, Ruddiman's Rudiments. 

The Grammatical Text-hooks are omitted as defective in the opinion of tlie 
teacher. 

Classical Department. Eutropius, Selectae Latini, Mair's Introduction^ 
Adams' Latin Grammar, Ovid or Virgil, Horace, Anthologia, Dunbar's Greek 
and English Grammar, Minora. 

House-Governor''s Department. Guy's Geography, Porteous' Evidences, 
Watts' Catechism. 

Mathematics. The instruction is principally oral. Euclid's Elements. 

LIST OF TEXT-BOOKS USED AT GEORGE WATSON'S HOSPITAL, 
EDINBURGH. 

En"-Ush Department. First Class. ModernGcography of the Edinburgh Aca- 
demy, Stewart's Englisli History, Simpson's Scotland, Lennie's English Gram- 
mar Sessional School Collection, Stewart's Stories from the History of Scotland. 

Classical Department. Ruddiman's Rudiments, Eutropius, or Phsedrus' Fables, 
Ccesar, Sallnst, Virgil, Mair's Introduction, Dunbar's Greek Grammar, New Tes- 
tament, Xenophon. 

Mathematical Department. Davidson's Arithmetic. 

Reid's Chemistry. 

TEXT-BOOKS USED IN THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT OF THE 
MADRAS COLLEGE, ST. ANDREWS. 

Lennie's A. B. C, Parts First and Second, Lennie's Ladder, Lennie's Sequel 
to the Ladder, Connel's Young Scholar's Companion, M'Culloch's Introduction 
to his Course of Reading, Sessional School Collection, M'Culloch's Course of Read- 
ing in Sciences, Scott's Beauties of Eminent Writers, History of England, (out- 
lines by a Committee of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge,) 
Campbell's (of Dundee) Collection, Thomson's (Dr. Andrew) Collection, Len- 
nie's English Grammar, Connel's Grammar, Parker's Elements of English 
Composition. 

Illustrations. Darton's Plates of Animals, (coloured,) Small Cabinet of Speci- 
mens of iMctals, Ores, &c., t&c, Arrowsmith's Maps of the Four Quarters of the 
World (large,) Thomson's Map of tlic World, Selected Articles of the Penny 
Magazine. 

TEXT-BOOKS USED AND SUBJECTS TAUGHT IN THE HIGH 
SCHOOL OF EDINBURGH. 

Latin. Vocabulary, Sententia; Selccta?, Aurelius Victor, Corderius, Adams* 
Grammar, Pliaedrus, Carson on the Relative, Buchanan's Psalms, Adams' Roman 
Antiquities, Mythology, Anthologia Latina. 



LIST OF BOOKS USED AT HERIOt's HOSPITAL. 651 

Greek. Moor's Grammar, by Tate, Vocabulary, Dalzel's Analecta Minora, 
Thucydides, Demosthenes, ^schylus. 

Roman History, Outlines of Ancient and Modern Geography, Mental Arith- 
metic, Goldsmith's larger Roman History, Malkin's History of Greece, Speci- 
mens of the British Poets, Porteous's Evidences, A Short (ienernl View of the 
Three Kingdoms of Nature. Figures of Rhetoric and Rhetorical Arrangement. 



No. VI. 

Referred to on page 48. ■ 

FORM OF APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION INTO CAUVIN'S HOS- 
PITAL, EDINBURGH. 

To he lodged with the Factoi' of the Hospital, on or before the 
1st day of April, 18-3 

TO THE GOVERNORS OF CAUVIn's HOSPITAL : 

Edinburgh, 183 . 

Gentlemen : — As a general meeting of the said governors have resolved to ad- 
mit into the Hospital or Institution under their management, on or about the 
day of April next, boys, lawful children, who were born 

betwixt the day of April, and the day of 

April, , inclusive ; and for that purpose, that each governor, betwixt and 

the first day of the said month of April, may, if so inclined, recommend to the 
consideration of the governors one boy, and no more, born betwixt the dates 
aforesaid, I beg leave to recommend , 

lawful son of , for admission into the said 

institution. 

In the event of the boy now recommended being admitted into the institution, 
I shall at all times, when required, transmit to his relations any communication 
I may receive from the governors, or their factor, regarding him. 

The particulars regarding this boy are set forth in the answers to the annexed 
schedule, and the documents in support of the application are herewith lodged.* 
And I certify, that tlie circumstances, in answer to the sixth question annexed, 
are stated on my own personal knowledge, or from information upon which tlie 
governors may rely. 

I am, gentlemen. 

Your most obedient servant, 

Edinburgh, 183 . 

* It is absolutely necessary that the obligation on the next page shall be sign- 
ed by a responsible person, and the whole documents lodged with the factor, at 
the time of giving in the application, as without tliese it cannot be submitted to 
the governors. 



G52 APPENDIX. 

Edinburgh, 183 . 

I [here state fully name, designation, and residence,] engage, in the event of 
the boy now recommended, being admitted into Cauvin's Hos- 

pital, to relieve the governors of the boy upon leaving the institution, whether 
that shall take place upon the lapse of the six years from the date of his admis- 
sion, or shall, in consequence of the bad healtli of the boy, or other cause, take 
place at an earlier period. 

SCHEDULE. 

The boys to be admitted into the institution must, in terms of the Will of the 
founder, be " the sons of respectable, but poor teachers; the sons of poor, but 
honest farmers; wJiom failing, the sons of respectable master printers or book- 
sellers, and the sons of respectable servants in the agricultural line." They 
"must be descended of honest, industrious, and well-behaved parents, whose cir- 
cumstances in life do not enable them suitably to support and educate their chil- 
dren at other schools; and no unhealthy or diseased boy shall, at any time, or on 
any account, be admitted into the said hospital." 

They must, at the period of their admission, be not less than six, nor more 
than eight years of age. 

Questions. Answers, 

1. The name and date of birth of the 
boy, per parish register, or other satis- 
factory evidence. 

2. Names and designations, and whe- 
ther dead or alive, in so far as known, of 
the father, mother, ])aternal grandfather, 
maternal grandfather. 

3. Present residence of the boy, with 
whom, and in what parish and county. 

4. Number of brothers and sisters of 
the boy, under ten years of age. 

5. Certificate by a respectable physi- 
cian or surgeon, that the boy is in good 
health, of sound constitution, and free 
from bodily defect, mental imbecility, or 
contagious distemper. 

6. Certificate by the minister and two 
elders of the parish where the boy and 
his parents reside, as to their character 
and good behaviour, and the sound state 
of the boy's health ; and that he is of one 
or other of the classes of persons above 
mentioned, specifying which class. 

7. Inventory of documents herewith produced. 



TABLES OF DIET. 



053 



No. VIL 



TABLES OF DIET. 









Jleal \vliicli 








Country. 


Institution. 


Kind of food. 


it is intend- 


Quantity. 


Remarks. 








ed fui-. 










Heriot's 


Oatmeal. 


Breakfast. 


For each meal. 


For the day. 


Once a week 


8oz. 






Hospital. 


u 


Supper. 


8 oz. 


16 oz. 


potato soup, 




(Ed in- 


Bread. 


L'chatlL 


2 J oz. 




19.72 oz. pota- 




burgh.) 




^ " at 4. 


2i oz. 




toes, and 5 oz. 








Dinner. 


2S oz. 


7.1 oz. 


of bread, each. 






Beef. 


Dinner. 


6.22 oz. 


6.22 oz. 


Once a week 






Potatoes. 


<( 


9.86 oz. 


9.86 oz. 


pea soup, (3. 66 


fi 




Barley. 


(( 


L38 oz. 


1.38 oz. 


oz. peas,) and 


iJ 












5 oz. of bread. 














8 


Edin- 


Oatmeal. 


Breakfast. 


4 oz. 






02 


burgh 


" 


Supper. 


4 oz. 


8oz. 






Orplian- 


Bread. 


Dinner. 


5 oz. 








Hospital. 


(( 


L'ch at 4. 


2 oz. 


7oz. 








Beef. 


Dinner. 


4 oz. 


4oz. 


Beef is given 






Vegetables 








3 times a week 






of different 




Not fixed. 


Not fixed. 


in summer, 






kinds. 








and .5 times in 






Milk. 


Morning. 
Afternoon. 


1 pint. 
h pint. 


1 pint. 


winter. 


Blue-coat 


Oatmeal. 


Break fasf. 


4 oz. 




Once a week 




School. 


" 


Sup])er. 


.1 oz. 


7oz. 


rice Vi'ith milk. 




(Liver- 


Milk. 


Breakfi^st 


J pint. 




8 oz. each. 




pool.) 


Meat. 


Supper. 


i pint. 


3 pint. 


On Sunday ev- 
ening, cheese, 






(Beef and 


Dinner. 


6 oz. 


6 oz. 


4 oz., beer I 






tripe.) 








pint each. 






Potatoes. 


Dinner. 


2 pounds. 


2 pounds. 








Vegetables. 




Not fixed. 


Not fixed. 




London 


Bread. 


Supper,»fcc 


121 oz. 


12i oz. 




Oatmeal. 


Breakfast. 


2 oz. 


2oz. 


Twice a week 


w 


Orphan 


Milk. 


Breakfast. 


h pint. 


J pint. 


barley broth 




Asylum. 


Bread. 


Breakfast. 


7 oz. 


7 oz. 


and suet pud- 






" 


Dinner. 


Not fixed. 


Not fixed. 


ding, quantity 






u 


Supper. 


7 oz. 


7 oz. 


not fixed. 






Meat. 














(Beef and 








Green vege- 






mutton.) 


Dinner. 


8 oz. 


8oz. 


tables occa- 
sionally in 
summer. 






Cheese. 


Supper. 


1.1 oz. 


11 oz. 


Once a week 






Treacle. 


" 


Not fixed. 


Not fixed. 


300 herrings 






Butter. 


(( 


Not fixed. 


Not fixed. 


for 350 pupils. 



G54 



APPENDIX. 









vital wliieli 




1 




Country. 


Institution. 


Kind of food. 


t is intcnil- 


Quantity. | 


Remarks. 








. d for. 










Hibcr- 


Oatmeal. 


Breakfast. 


For each meal. 


For the d.iy. 


Once a week 


4 oz. 


4 oz. 




nian 


Milk. 


Breakfast. 


i pil.t. 




they get a dish 




Soldier's 


" Supper. 


1 pint. 


Ih pint. 


called calecan- 




School. 


Gruel. 


" 


Not fixed. 


No"t fixed. 


non. It is com- 




(Dublin.) 


Meat. 








posed of equal 






Beef. 


Dinner. 


8 oz. 


8 oz. 


quantities of 






Vegetables 








potatoes and 






of different 


Dinner. 


Not fixed. 


Not fixed. 


greens pre- 






kinds. 








pared with but- 






Potatoes. 


» 


1| pounds. 


li pounds. 


ter and milk. 






Bread. 


Supper. 


8 oz. 


8 oz. 


to be seasoned 


Q 












with leeks and 


^ 












salt. 


<1 








































S 


Gwynn's 


Oatmeal. 


Breakfast. 


5 oz. 


5 oz. 


Meat is only 




Charity. 


Milk. 


« 


I quart. 


g quart. 


given on Sun- 




(London- 


Potatoes. 


Dinner. 


3 pounds. 


3 pounds. 


days. 




derry.) 


Meat. 








Once a week 






Beef 


" 


6 oz. 


6 oz. 


there is broth 






Buttermilk. 


" 


1 pint. 




with vegeta- 






" 


Supper. 


1 pint. 


1 quart. 


bles, and two 






Gruel. 




4 oz. 


4 oz. 


pounds of po- 
tatoes for each. 


Orphan 


Bread. 


Breakfast. 




1 pound. 






House. 


" 


Supper. 




Meat is given 




(Frank- 


Meat. 


Dinner. 


6 oz. 


6 oz. 


three times a 




fortonthe 


Vegetables 








week. 




Maine.) 


of different 

kinds. 

Porridge. 


Supper. 


Not fixed. 


Not fixed. 


On rare oc- 
casions, roast 






Potatoes. 


" 


< Not fixed. 


Not fixed. 


meat and wine 






Butter. 


" 


/ 




are given. 




Orphan 


Beer. 


Dinner. 


Not fixed. 


Not fixed. 




Milk. 


Breakfast. 


^ Not fix , 
i cd. 




Roast meat 




House. 


" 


Supper. 




is given eight 


(Ham. 


Bread. 


Breakfast. 


i As much 




times a year. 


S 


burgh.) 


" 


Dinner. 


^ as they 






PS 




Meat. 


Supper. 


f require. 




Meat is given 
three times a 




(Beef) 


Dinner. 


4 oz. 


4 oz. 


week. 




Military 


Vegetables. 


" 


Not fixed. 






Bread. 


Breakfast. 






Herring or 




Orphan 


" 


Dinner. 






other fish is 




House. 


(1 


Supper. 




1 pound. 


given once a 




(Pots- 


Meat. 








week for din- 




dam.) 


(Beef, tripe, 








ner. 






sausage.) 


Dinner. 


5 oz. 


5 oz. 








Vegetables. 


" 


Not fixed. 










Flour gruel. 


Supper. 


Not fixed. 







TABLE OF HOURS OF RECREATION, &C. 



655 



-- .-H -H KS 



- 








, 1 


-N 


1 I->C1. 1 . 


1 1 


1 




" 


1 1 


\ 




S; M 


* r* 


"^ 1* 


^44 


^ LI l-rf ICC 1 


-* r- 1 


OO IX \C^ |C5 1 


^ 1 




s 










i-H 




-^ (— t r 


— 1 




— 




— 1 T 


-H r 


~* r 


— 1 


ct| 


CT 1 




3 ? °- 


C O 




o 


O 


o o 


n 


o 


o 




o 


O 


















i f 




























*^ 




■*-* 


" 




1 > 


H <ew 


n -:-! 




to 


«5 O 00 IlO 1 


O CO 1 


00 loo Irf lo i 









t^ 




o 




















""* I'"' 1 


— 


-it« 








"" 


-'-J 


_l ^,, 














_i«, 




J A 




.J 




l-> 


•9SI0.I3.V0 


» i 


t~ o 


«5 


«:: 


- t-l 


T1 


tc -# 1 


ojI 


— 1 y—K 


3^ 




CT 




CT 


5 


l^npDii9;ui 






























" 


1—1 








=> o 


_., _. 






-'-I 


_.., 


„.., 


C3 


T) 




7s 


30 


^ 


, 1 




^ 


r^ 


00 ' 


H 


'isajj 




00 CT 






s> 


yj 


o; 


1 








~ 


3i 










3 


■SIT30UI 


_^^ 










-!n 


rH'-l 




Kr^ 




-•n. 
















c 


put; 9SI0J3 


J5 C- 


S i^ 


^ 


C5 


J5 


JU 


l^ 


en 


;zj 




£> 


o 


■0 


^ 




"* 


lO 


CO 


o 


-x9 inpoa 




































\ 


s 




1 " 


—'-1 r^' 














t-;^) 






1 












_^ 


Ai 


■{ooqog ui 


!- 1-^ 


lO cr 


-^ 


LO 


t~ 


t^ 


•* 


•^ 


■•* 




CO 


-^;) LO 
o 1 


lO 




C^. 


X 


t~ 




^ U0I1T3]T09JJ 


1 
































53 


g -iprng " -*- 


t^'^ + 


- Oi 


^ 


-* 


-^ 


^ 


a 


O 






CO 




CO 


CO 


10 . 




^ -dooig S S 

o 1 


00 c- 


-■' tr- 


Ci 


5ij 


00 jco 


C5 


00 


— 


C5 

o 


30 O^ 


CI 



— 







00 






= -sgpTJJX 


o c; 


o c 


^ -^ 


CJ 


O 


o o 


CO 




SJ9:fT!.I<J-90I 


-■T 


KH K 




-';i 


HCT 


^,„ 


-,-, 


— ^M 




r-Wl 


C.H 


HM 




'^N 


-4l?I 


«w 




[Od TySlT39I^ 


ci c: 


(M c 


J C* 


00 


'"' 


CO CO 


O? 


Oi 






CT CQ 


CT 




'"' 


" 






•S9SI0I9X9 




































c 


j-EinSai J9 


<-< c 


i? - 


r, ^ 


1—1 


-5 


•TJ 


1—1 


1—1 


_J 




-; 


=) o 


I— 1 




l_l 


^ 







-ijjo JO 'sDi; 




* 


































O 


-SBUUli^) 






































o 


•uoi; 


_,^ 












—"CI 










-It 





-^Tl 




Mri 






"o 


-•B9J99y 


s^j -^ 


•* ': 


f CO 


CJ 


lO 


CO 


CO 


C! 


t!< 




^ 


CI 


'"' 


CT 




1—1 


CO 


CT 


b4 




i/ 






»r 


































-a 




































o 


o 


I. 




































Cm 
O 




-a ~ 




- 


-3 

s. 


- 


< 


s 


S 


- 




2 
















Pd 




















:-< 






s-'l - 












►J 
o 


< 




O 












t-c 

o 


a 




S-1 

0) 




^ 














H 




C 


5= - 


^ 


^ 


., 


^ 


^ 


3 


3 




C 


s 


3 


.- 




., 


3 


^ 


^ 




^ 


3 










^ 


3 

in 




fe: 


m 


^ 








m 




1—1 




t 


-- 










<s 


3 
1-1 

-3 












^, 










bn 






J 


o 








2 


: J 






^ 


^ 




;^ 










1. 
s 

o 
o 

is 

E 

as 


a 

3 

c 


'^ 1- 
O 

.2 ' 


5 'o' 

/3 O 

c 6 - 


3 
O 

i 1 

p. £" 
^ o 


o 

3 


_5 

o 

o 

3 


o 
5 

3 

n 


o 
3 

•?■ 

"o 

1-5 


o 
'o 

1 

"o 
o 


6 
S 


q 
1 

e 
e 

o 


c 
c 

"o 

ai 

3 

"3 
o 
> 


> 

■3 




fc£ 




rt 

1 


5 


1 

1 


3 







1 






S 3 


o- r3 


Clri 




— 




^ 








^^ 


_3 













1. 




W H 


T S 


5 s 


O 


fe 


O 


02 


xn 






g 








ra 




^ 




Q 


HH 
















1 






















> 


o 


3 


'o 
o 

; p. 
p 


bX)^ 

lie 




IH-I 




fc 


SI s 

" 3 ■■' 


• c 

5 




c 


1 


a 

3 













3 



In making this table, I have not aimed at rigid exactness in tlie fractional parts 
of the hour employed in certain occupations, but believe that they are sufficiently 
minute for the comparison intended. 



650 APPENDIX. 



No. IX. 

BIBLE LESSONS AT THE MODEL INFANT SCHOOL OF THE 
GLASGOW EDUCATION SOCIETY. 

Referred to on page 160. 

The plan of the Bible lesson is thus slictched by Mr. Stow : 
" After a short paragraph is read, the children ought to be exercised, first on 
the meaning of every word or term in the particular passage; next on the lead- 
ing points, and afterwards on the moral lesson which is naturally deducible from 
it. If the premises are well laid and understood, the children themselves will 
generally give the lesson. 

" Tlie general plan pursued is not to tell or inform the pupils of any thing, 
wliich by analysis, comparison, or illustration they can be made to find out for 
themselves ; in other words, they arc trained, rather than taught, to think." 

" Pictures ought to be used whenever practicable, and the whole resources of 
natural science brought to assist the elucidation of Scripture ; each point ought 
to be made as plain and vivid to the mind of the cluld as in a picture. Impor- 
tant associations and moral and religious lessons also to the }^oung may be given 
from them. We have for the naturalist, the lion, Daniel in the lion's den, 
Lion of the tribe of Judah. The lamb, and tlie promises regarding the lion 
and the lamb, lying down in peace together. The serpent, deceitfulness. The 
leopard and tiger, cruelty, yet pretty skin. A dog to his vomit, and a sow 
that is washed to her wallowing in the mire, had habits. The bee, industry ; 
with lessons from a tliousand otlier animate and inanimate objects. Sometimes 
they are conjoined in one illustjation — 'As the hart panteth after the water- 
brooks, so panteth,' &c. We have here the nature and situation of the hart — 
the water-brooks — the climate — the heat — tlie dust — the distant brooks — the 
panting. What is panting ? Why pant, &c. Pant is . . . The botanist, the 
astronomer, the mineralogist, the moralist, may each exercise their powers of il- 
lustration respectively, on ' the lily of the valley,' ' rose of Sharon,' ' sun stand- 
ing still at the bidding of Joshua,' ' Orion,' ' Pleiades,' and the ' morning 
star,' ' precious stones of the temple,' ' the pearl of great price,' ' Jonathan's 
love for David his rival,' 'Absalom's vanity, beautiful hair, and the cause of his 
death.' " 

As an example of the illustration of tiicse principles, the fiDllowing extract may 
suffice. The lesson is upon the one hundredth and fiftieth Psalm. 

^^Verse \. 'The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.' Verse 2. 'He 
maketh mc to lie down in green pastures, he leadeth me beside the still waters.' 
We shall take some of the principal words, and see if you can tell me 
their meaning. ' Lord,' is the first word ; but, as our limits permit us to 
give an example of only one or two words, or, at most, of the two first verses 
of this Psalm, we shall take the second word, which is more immediately 



BIBLE EXERCISES). 657 

connected with ^pastures.' Now, children, what is the meaning of the word 
shepherd? Takes care of sheep. The shepherd takes care of.. .sheep. Can you 
tell me what a herd means ? A boy. No doubt, herds are very frequently, per- 
haps most frequently, boys, but could not a girl be a herd as well as a boy? Yes, 
What is meant by a herd ? The children are silent. Suppose a boy or girl or a 
man took care of cows or cattle, what would he be called ? Would he be called 
a sheplierd? No. A man that herded cuttle would be called a cattle... herd. A 
shepherd, therefore, is one who takes care oC... sheep. Now, children, can you 
tell me what pasture means? No. You don't know. Well, suppose you took 
a walk into the country, and saw a field with sheep or cows feeding in it, what 
would they be eating ? Grass. What, then, do you think pasture means ? Grass. 
What colour is grass ? It is green. What kind of pasture does the Psalmist say 
- the shepherd leads his sheep to lie down in ? He maketh them to lie down in 
green... ^as^Mres. Is grass always green, think you, children ? Yes. Did you 
ever see grass any other colour than green ? No. You never saw grass any 
other colour than green ? No. But, suppose, during a hot summer, when the 
sun is shining very bright for a long time, perhaps for six or eight weeks at a 
time, and no rain, what colour do you think the grass would be ? Brown. Then 
grass is not always green ? No, sir. It sometimes is. . .brown. Whether do you 
think that sheep would like to eat green... ^rass, which is full of... sap, or brown 
...grass, that is very... (fry? Green grass. Then you think that a good shep- 
herd will make his sheep to lie down in the green pastures or green... g-rass, in 
preference to where there is brown, dry... grass? Yes. Do you think, children, 
that the shepherd here spoken of will take them to a field where there will be 
plenty or scarcity to eat ? Let me make it a little plainer. The shepherd is said 
to make his sheep to lie down in green... pastures. If they had little to eat do 
you think that the sheep would lie down there ? No, they would run about seek- 
ing grass. Then, you think, they will have plenty when they are made to lie 
down in it? Yes. They 'shall not... jcani.'" ****** 

No. X. 

Referred to on page 168. 

"READING DISENTANGLED," OR METHOD OF TEACHING TO 
READ USED IN THE LONDON INFANT SCHOOL SOCIETY'S 
MODEL SCHOOL. 

The method of teaching to read, which is strongly recommended, aflcr trial in 
this school, is an attempt to apply the phonic method of the German schools to 
our language, so irregular in the sounds of the letters, and in their combinations 
into syllables and words. Tlie consonants are taught first to be named by the 
sound most like that in combination, and, besides, are classified into families. 
Pictures of objects, the names of which begin with the different consonants, are 
used to impress ihcm upon the cliild's memory. Next, the shapes of the conso- 
nants are given, and so described as to recal them by association, the large and 
small printed letters being taught separately. The children are next taught to 

83 



658 APPENDIX. 

form words, by putting the consonants before the vowels, beginning with the 
short sound of a. Next, before syllables beginning with the short sounds of 
e, t, 0, M, and y, when replacing ?', with exercises upon the sound of vowels 
indiscriminately. The short sound in syllables followed by r. The placing of s 
at the end of words. More than one consonant before a vowel. Silent letters. 
The syllables ih and qu. Words ending with two consonants. The final sylla- 
bles, 6Ze, (See. Words ending with ng. The sound of cA. Long vowels followed 
by a consonant. Long vowels followed by r. The diphthongs ou and au. Soft 
sound of e. Diphthongs of oio and oy, and soft sound of g-. Diphthong ei. Sound 
of a after w, and some irregular words. Diphthong cm, and some irregular 
words. 

No. XI. 

Referred to on page 307. 

REMARKS OF M. EMANUEL DE FELLENBERG, ON EDUCATION, 
VERIFIED BY HIS OBSERVATIONS AT HOFWYL. 

" On the reception of a new pupil, our first object is to obtain an accurate 
knowledge of his individual character, with all its resources and defects, in order 
to aid in its farther development, according to the apparent intention of the Crea- 
tor. To this end, the individual independent activity of the pupil is of much 
greater importance than the ordinary, busy officiousness of many who assume 
the office of educators and teachers. They too often render the child a mere 
magazine of knowledge, collected by means purely mechanical, which furnishes 
him neither direction nor aid in the business of life. Tlie more ill-digested 
knowledge a man thus collects, the more oppressive will be the burden to its 
possessor, and the more painful his helplessness. Instead of pursuing this 
course, we endeavour, by bestowing the utmost care upon the cultivation of the 
conscience, the understanding, and the judgment, to light up a torch in the mind 
of every pupil, which shall enable him to observe his own character, and shall 
set in the clearest light all the exterior objects which claim his attention. 

" A great variety of exercises of the body and the senses are employed to pre- 
pare our pupils for tlie fulfilment of their destination. It is by means of such 
exercises that every man should acquire a knowledge of his physical strength, 
and attain confidence with regard to those efforts of which he is capable, instead 
of that fool-hardiness which endangers the existence of many who have not learn- 
ed to estimate their own powers correctly. 

" All the various relations of space should be presented to the eye, to be ob- 
served and combined in the manner best adapted to form the coup d'oeil. In- 
struction in design renders us important service in this respect — every one should 
thus attain tlie power of reproducing the forms he has observed, and of delinea- 
ting them with facility, and should learn to discover the beauty of forms, and to 
distinguish them from their contrasts. It is only where the talent is remarkable 
that tlae attempt should be made to render the pupil an artist. 



REMARKS OF M. FELLENBERG ON EDUCATION. 659 

" The cultivation of the ear by means of vocal and instrumental music is not 
less important to complete the development of the human being. The organs of 
speech, the memory, the understanding, and the taste, should be formed in the 
same manner by instruction, and a great variety of exercises in language, vocal 
music, and declamation. The same means should also be employed to cultivate 
and confirm devotional feelings. 

" In the study of natural history the power of observation is developed in re- 
ference to natural objects. In the history of mankind the same faculty is em- 
ployed upon the phenomena of human nature and human relations, and the moral 
taste is cultivated, at the same time the faculty of conceiving with correctness, 
and of employing and combining with readiness, the materials collected by the 
mind, and especially the reasoning faculty, should be brought into exercise, by 
means of forms and numbers, exhibited in their multiplied and varied relations. 

"The social life of our pupils contributes materially to the formation of their 
moral character. The principles developed in tiicir experience of practical life 
among themselves, which gradually extends with their age and the progress of 
their minds, serves as the basis of this branch of education. It presents the ex- 
amples and occasions necessary for exhibiting and illustrating the great princi- 
ples of morals. According to the example of Divine Providence, we watch over 
this little world in which our pupils live and act, with an ever vigilant, but often 
invisible care, and constantly endeavour to render it more pure and noble. 

" At the same time that the various improvements of science and art are applied 
to the benefit of our pupils, their sound religious education should be continually 
kept in view in every branch of study; this is also the object of a distinct series 
of lessons, which generally continue through the whole course of instruction, and 
whose influence is aided by the requisite exercises of devotion. 

" By the combination of means I have described, we succeed in directing our 
pupils to the best methods of pursuing their studies independently ; we occupy 
their attention, according to their individual necessities and capacities, with philo- 
logy, the ancient and modern languages, the mathematics, and their various 
modes of application, and a course of historical studies, comprising geography, 
statistics, and political economy."* 

Moral Education.^ The example of the instructor is all important in moral 
education. The books which are put into the pupils hands are of great influence. 
The pupil must be constantly surrounded with stimulants to good actions in order 
to form his habits. A new institution should be begun with so small a number 
of pupils, that no one of them can escape the observation of the educator and his 
moral influence. The general opinion of the pupils is of high importance, and 
hence should be carefully directed. Intimate intercourse between pupils and their 
educators begets confidence, and is tlie strongest means of moral education. The 

* Extract from a published letter of M. de Fellenberg to Lady Byron. 

t The remarks in this and the succeeding sections are abstracts from the ac- 
count of Hofwyl, by our countryman W. C. Woodbridge, or from Conversntions 
with M. de Fellenberg. 



G60 APPENDIX. 

educator must be able to command liimself — his conduct must be firm and just; 
frequent reproofs from such are more painful to the pupil than punishment of a 
momentary sort. 

While influences tending directly to lead the pupil astray should be removed 
from the school, he must be left, to the action of the ordinary circumstances of 
life, that his character may be developed accordingly. The pupil should be led 
as far as possible to correct his faults by perceiving the consequences of them; 
the good or bad opinion of his preceptor and comrades are important means of 
stimulation. Exclusion from amusements, public notice of faults,* and corporal 
punishment, arc all admissible. Solitary confinement is efficacious as a punish- 
ment. Rewards and emulation are unnecessary as motives. 

Religion and morality arc too intimately connected to admit of separation in 
the courses- inculcating them. The elementary part of such a course is equally 
applicable to all sects. 

No good is to be derived from employing the pupils as judges or juries, or* 
giving them a direct share in awarding punishment for offences. It is apt to 
elevate the youth too much in his own conceit. 

Family life is better adapted, than any artificial state of society within an insti- 
tution, to develope the moral sentiments and feelings of youth. 

Intellectual Education. A system of prizes, or emulation, and the fear of pun- 
ishment, do not aflbrd the strongest motives to intellectual exertion. Experience 
shows that places in a class may be dispensed with. It is possible to develope a 
taste for knowledge, a respect and attachment for teachers, and a sense of duty 
which will take the place of any lower motive in inducing the requisite amount 
of study. 

In the higher departments of instruction it is better to confine the task of the 
teacher to giving instruction merely, placing tlic pupil under the charge of a spe- 
cial educator, at limes when he is not engaged in the class-room. 

With the other, and more usual branches of instruction, correct ideas of natu- 
ral history and pheijomena should be communicated to children, and require, 
first, that they shall be duly trained to observation by calling the observing fa- 
culties into frequent exercise. Second, that they shall be made acquainted with 
the elements of natural history, especially in reference to familiar objects. Third, 
that the most familiar phenomena of nature, such as thunder and lightning, the 
rainbow, &c.; and further, the most simple principles of mechanic arts, trades, 
&c., should be explained to them. Fourth, they should be taught to draw, in 
connexion with the other instruction. Accuracy of conception is favoured by 
drawing, and it is a powerful aid to the memory. The most important principles 
of physiology, and their application to the preservation of health, should form a 
part of the instruction. 

Physical Education. Pure air, a suitable diet, regular exercise and repose, and 
a proper distribution of time, are the principal means of physical education. It 



* This, however,violates another principle, which is to allow no punishment 
of ahumiliatinar sort. 



REMARKS OF THE REV. DR. ARNOLD. 6G1 

is as essential that a pupil leave his studies during the time appropriated to relaxa- 
tion as that he study during the hours devoted to that purpose. Voluntary ex- 
ercise is to be encouraged by providing suitable games, by affording opportuni- 
ties for gardening, and by excursions, and by bathing. Regular gymnastic exer- 
cises should be insisted on as the means of developing the body; a healthy 
action of the bodily frame has an important influence on both mind and morals. 
Music is to be considered as a branch of physical education, having powerful mo- 
ral influences. The succession of study, labour, musical instruction, or play, 
should be carefully attended to. The hours of sleep should be regulated by the 
age of the pupil. ^ 

No. XII. 

Referred to, on page 400 of this Report. 

REMARKS OF THE REV. DR. ARNOLD, ON THE STUDY OF 
CLASSICS AND OF HISTORY.* 

" It may freely be confessed that the first origin of classical education affords 
in itself no reasons for its being continued now. When Latin and Greek were 
almost the only written languages of civilized man, it is manifest that they must 
have furnished the subjects of all liberal education. The question therefore is 
wholly changed, since the growth of a complete literature in other languages; 
since France, and Italy, and Germany, and England, have each produced their 
philosophers, their poets, and their historians, worthy to be placed on the same 
level with those of Greece and Rome. 

" But although there is not the same reason now which existed three or four 
centuries ago for the study of Greek and Roman literature, yet there is another 
no less substantial. Expel Greek and Latin from your schools,t and you confine 
the views of the existing generation ^o themselves and their immediate predeces- 
sors: you will cut off so many centuries of the world's experience, and place us in 
the same state as if the human race had first come into existence in the year 
1500. For it is nothing to say that a few learned individuals might still study 
classical literature; the effect produced on the public mind would be no greater 
than that which has resulted from the labours of our oriental scholars ; it would 
not spread beyond themselves, and men in general, after a few generations, would 
know as little of Greece and Rome as they do actually of China and Hindostan. 
But such an ignorance would be incalculably more to be regretted. With the 
Asiatic mind we have no nearer connSxion or sympathy than that which is de- 
rived from our common humanity. But the mind of the Greek and of the Roman 
is in all the essential points of its constitution our own ; and not only so, but it is 
our own mind developed to an extraordinary degree of perfection. Wide as is 
the difference between us with respect to those physical instruments whicli mi- 
nister to our uses or our pleasures ; although the Greeks and Romans had no 

* From the London Journal of Education, Vol. VII. 

t Of course the secondary schools are here alluded to. (A. D. B.) 



GG2 APPENDIX. 

eteam-engines, no printing-presses, no mariner's compass, no telescopes, no mi- 
croscopes, no gunpowder, 3^et in our moral and political views, in those matters 
which most determine human character, there is a perfect resemblance in these 
respects. Aristotle, and Plato, and Thucydidcs, and Cicero, and Tacitus, are 
most untruly called ancient writers; they are virtually our own countrymen and 
contemporaries, but have the advantage which is enjoyed by intelligent travel- 
lers, that their observation has been exercised in a field out of the reach of com- 
mon men; and that having thus seen in a manner with our eyes what we cannot 
see for ourselves, their conclusions are such as bear upon our own circumstances, 
while their information has all the charm of novelty, and all the value of a mass 
of new and pertinent facts, illustrative of the great science of the nature of civi- 
lized man. 

" Now when it is said, that men in manhood so often throw their Greek and 
Latin aside, and that this very fact shows the uselessness of their early studies, 
it is mucli more true to say that it shows how completely the literature of 
Greece and Rome would be forgotten if our system of education did not keep up 
the knowledge of it. But it by no means shows that system to be useless, unless 
it followed, that when a man laid aside his Greek and Latin books he forgot also 
all that he had ever gained from them. This, however, is so far from being the 
case, that even where the results of a classical education are least tangible, and 
least appreciated, even by the individual himself, still the mind often retains much 
of the efl'cct of its early studies in the general liberality of its tastes and compa- 
rative comprehensiveness of its views and notions. 

"All tliis supposes, indeed, that classical instruction should be sensibly conduct- 
ed ; it requires tliat a classical teacher should be fully acquainted with modern 
history and modern literature, no less than with those of Greece and Rome. 
What is, or perhaps what used to be, called a mere scholar, cannot possibly com- 
municate to his pupils the main advantages of a classical education. The know- 
ledge of the past is valuable, because without it our knowledge of the present and 
of the future must be scanty; but if the knowledge of the past be confined wholly 
to itself, if, instead of being made to bear upon things around us, it be totally iso- 
lated from them, and so disguised by vagueness and misapprehension as to ap- 
pear incapable of illustrating tlicm, then indeed it becomes little better than 
laborious trifling, and they who declaim against it may be fully forgiven. 

" To select one instance of tliis perversion, what can be more absurd than the 
practice of what is called construing Greek and Latin, continued as it often is 
even with pupils of an advanced age? The study of Greek and Latin, consi- 
dered as mere languages, is of importance, mainly as it enables us to understand 
and employ well that language in which we commonly think, and speak, and 
write. It does this because Greek and Latin are specimens of language at once 
highly perfect and incapable of being understood without long and minute atten- 
tion: the study of them, therefore, naturally involves that of the general princi- 
ples of grammar: while their peculiar excellences illustrate the points which ren- 
der language clear, and forcible, and beautiful. But our application of this 
general knowledge must naturally be to our own language ; to show us what are 



REMARKS OF THE REV. DU. ARNOLD. 663 

its peculiarllics, what its beauties, what its defects; to teach us by the patterns or 
the analogies ofiered by otiier languages, how the effect which we admire in them 
may be produced With a somewhat different instrument. Every lesson in Greek 
or Latin may and ought to be made a lesson in English ; the translation of every 
sentence in Demosthenes or Tacitus is properly an exercise in extemporaneous 
English composition; a problem, how to express with equal brevity, clearness, 
and force, in our own language, the thought which the original author has so 
admirably expressed in his. But the system of construing, far from assisting, is 
positively injurious to our knowledge and use of English; it accustoms us to a 
tame and involved arrangement of our words, and to the substitution of foreign 
idioms in the place of such as are national; it obliges us to caricature every 
sentence that we render, by turning what is, in its original dress, beautiful and na- 
tural, into something which is neither Greek nor English, stiff, obscure, and flat, 
exemplifying all the faults incident to language, and excluding every excellence. 
" The exercise of translation, on the other hand, meaning, by translation, the 
expressing of a« entire sentence of a foreign language by an entire sentence of 
our own, as opposed to the rendering separately into English either every sepa- 
rate word, or at most only parts of the sentence, whether larger or smaller, the 
exercise of translation is capable of furnishing improvement to students of every 
age, according to the measure of their abilities and knowledge," 

" This favourite notion of filling boys with useful information is likely, we 
think, to be productive of some mischief. It is a caricature of the principles of 
inductive philosophy, whic^, while it taught the importance of a knowledge of 
facts, never imagined that this knowledge was of itself equivalent to wisdom. 
Now it is not so much our object to give boys ' useful information,' as to facili- 
tate their gaining it hereafter for themselves, and to enable them to turn it to 
account when gained. The first is to be effected by supplying them on any sub- 
ject with a skeleton which they may fill up hereafter. For instance, a real know- 
ledge of history in after life is highly desirable; let us see how education can 
best facilitate the gaining of it. It should begin by impressing on a boy's mind 
the names of the greatest men of different periods, and by giving him a notion of 
their order in point of time, and the part of the earth on which they lived. This 
is best done by a set of pictures bound up together in a volume, such, for instance, 
as those which illustrated Mrs. Trimmer's little histories, and to which "the writer 
of this article is glad to acknowledge his own early obligations. Nor could bet- 
ter service be rendered to the cause of historical instruction than by publishing 
a volume of prints of universal history, accompanied with a very short descrip- 
tion of each. Correctness of costume in such prints, or good taste in the draw- 
ing, however desirable, if they can be easily obtained, are of very subordinate 
importance : the great matter is that the print should be striking, and full enough 
to excite and to gratify curiosity. By these means a lasting association is ob- 
tained with the greatest names in history, and the most remarkable actions of 
their lives: while their chronological arrangement is learnt at the same time 
from the order of the pictures ; a boy's memory being very apt to recollect the 



664 APPENDIX. 

place which a favourite print holds in a volume, whether it conies towards the 
beginning-, middle, or end, what picture comes before it, and what follows it. 
Such pictures should contain as much as possible the poetry of history: the most 
striking characters, and most heroic actions, whether of doing or of suffering ; 
but they should not embarrass themselves with its philosophy, with the causes of 
revolutions, the progress of society, or the merits of great political questions. 
Their use is of another kind, to make some great name, and great action of every 
period, familiar to the mind; that so in taking up any more detailed history or 
biography, (and education should never forget the importance of preparing a boy 
to derive benefit from his accidental reading,) he may have some association with 
the subject of it, and may not feel himself to be on ground wholly unknown to him. 
He may thus be led to open volumes into which he would otherwise have never 
thought of looking : he need not read them through — indeed, it is sad folly to re- 
quire either man or boy to read through every book they look at, but he will see 
what is said about such and such persons or actions; and tlien he will learn by 
the way something about other persons and other actions, and will have his stock 
of associations increased, so as to render more and more information acceptable 
to him. 

" After this foundation, the object still being rather to create an appetite for 
knowledge than to satisfy it, it would be desirable to furnish a boy with histories 
of one or two particular countries, Greece, Rome, and England for instance, writ- 
ten at no great length, and these also written poetically much more than philo- 
sophically, with much liveliness of style, and force of painting, so as to excite an 
interest about tlie persons and things spoken of The absence of all instruction 
in politics or political economy, nay, even an absolute erroneousness of judgment 
on such matters, provided always that it involves no wrong principle in morality, 
are comparatively of slight importance. Let the boy gain, if possible, a strong 
appetite for knowledge to begin with; it is a later part of education which should 
enable him to pursue it sensibly, and to make it, when obtained, wisdom." 

" Supposing a boy to possess that outline of general history which his prints and 
his abridgments will have given him, with his associations, so far as they go, 
strong and lively, and his desire of increased knowledge keen, the next thing to 
be done is to set him to read some first-rate historian, whose mind was formed in, 
and bears the stamp of some period of advanced civilization, analogous to that in 
which we now live. In other words, he should read Thucydides, or Tacitus, or 
any writer equal to them, if such can be found, belonging to the third period of 
full civilization, that of modern Europe since the middle ages. The particular 
subject of the history is of little moment, so long as it be taken neither from tlie 
barbarian, nor from the romantic, but from the philosophical or civilized stage of 
human society; and so long as the writer be a man of commanding mind, who 
has fully imbibed the influences of his age, yet without bearing its exclusive im- 
press. And the study of such a work, under an intelligent teacher, becomes in- 
deed the key of knowledge and of wisdom : first, it afibrds an example of good 
historical evidence, and hence the pupil may be taught to notice, from time to 



REMARKS OF THE REV. DR. ARNOLD. 665 

time, the various criteria of a credible narrative, and, by the rule of contraries, 
to observe vvliat are the indications of a testimony questionable, suspicious, or 
worthless. Undue scepticism may be repressed by showing how generally truth 
has been attained when it has been honestly and judiciously sought; while cre- 
dulity may be elieckcd by pointing out, on the other hand, liow manifold are the 
errors into which those are betrayed whose intellect or whose principles have 
been found wanting. Now, too, the time is come when the pupil may be intro- 
duced to that high philosophy which unfolds ' the causes of things.' The history 
with which he is engaged presents a view of society in its most advanced state, 
when the human mind is highly developSd, and the various crises which affect 
the growth of the political fabric are all overpast. Let him be taught to analyze 
the subject thus presented to him ; to trace back institutions, civil and religious, 
to their origin ; to explore the elements of the national character, as now exhibit- 
ed in maturity, in the vicissitudes of the nation's fortune, and the moral and 
physical qualities of its race ; to observe how the morals and the mind of the peo- 
ple have been subject to a succession of influences, some accidental, others regu- 
lar; to see and remember what critical seasons of improvement have been ne- 
glected, what besetting evils have been wantonly aggravated by wickedness or 
folly. In short, the pupil may be furnished, as it were, with certain formulae, 
which shall enable him to read all history beneficially; which shall teach him 
what to look for in it, how to judge of it, and how to apply it. 

" Education will thus fulfil its great business, as far as regards the intellect, to 
inspire it with a desire of knowledge, and to furnish it with power to obtain and 
to profit by what it seeks for."* 

No. XIII. 

ORPHAN STATISTICS. 

By the instructions of the Scholastic Committee,t I was directed to collect all 
the information possible in regard to the proportion, in number, of orphans to the 
rest of the community. On this subject I found it impossible to obtain satisfac- 
tory data, except in a few cases. Even where statistical inquiries have been pur- 
sued with considerable minuteness, this subject does not appear to have formed 
a part of them. The information whicli I have to present is too meagre to per- 
mit any general inferences, other than that the proportion of destitute orphan 
children to the rest of the community, is exceedingly variable in different coun- 
tries, and even in different districts of the same country. 

The orphan establishment of the duchy of Saxe-Weiraar is administered as a 
branch of the government, and the details in regard to it are known with great 
minuteness. The report of this department! for 1837, shows that there were 423 

* It would be most desirable that a series of text-books should be prepared 
according to this plan, which is as successful in practice as consonant with sound 
theory. (A. D. B.) 

+ See p. vi. of the Preface to this Report. 

t For which I am indebted to the director, Dr. Kohler, 
84 



666 APPENDIX. 

orphan children between tlie ages of about six and fourteen years, receiving aid. 
Under this title are included children w.io have lost both parents, or who have 
lost their father, the mother remaining a widow, and children deserted by their 
fathers. Of the total number, 211 were orphan boys, 206 girls, and 6 wero 
children deserted by tlieir fathers. Of the 211 boys, 1G6 were fatherless, and 
45 had lost both parents; and of the 206 girls, 164 were fatherless, and 42 had 
lost both parents. The population of the duchy of Saxe.Weimar was, in 1837, 
about 250,000, so that the destitute orphans of both sexes formed about .17 per 
cent, of the population, and the destitute orphan boys about .086 per cent. At 
the same time, the number of orphans receiving aid in the town of Weimar was 
33, which, in a population of 12,000, was .275 per cent., or more than once 
and a-half the proportion for the duchy at large. 

The statistics coming next to these in point of minuteness, which I was able 
to procure, are from the canton of Zurich, in Switzerland.* These give, in 
1836, for 231,574 inhabitants, 3,731 orphans of both sexes, the term orphan be- 
ing understood as in Weimar, and the census including children from infancy 
to about sixteen years of age. The city of Zurich, with a population of 14,243, 
had, at the same time, 229 orphans. Thus the country communes, with a po- 
pulation of 217,331, gave assistance to 2,636 orphan children, or 1.21 per cent., 
and the city of Zurich to 141, or .99 per cent. I have not the means of com- 
puting exactly the number of orphans below five years and over fourteen, in- 
cluded in this estimate, so as to compare it with the statement for the duchy of 
Saxe- Weimar, but adopting an approximate estimate, the number of destitute or- 
phans in the canton of Zurich to every one hundred inhabitants, appears to be 
between four and five times as great as the number, between the same years, in 
the duchy of Weimar. 

The director of the Orphan-house at Stuttgard gave me 1600, as the number 
of orphan children to be provided for in Wurtemberg, from six years up to 
fourteen or fifteen. This number gives, in the whole population of 1,400,000, 
almost .115 per cent. This proportion is somewhat lower than that for Weimar. 

In the absence of more correct data, I endeavoured to obtain the probable num- 
ber of destitute orphan boys in Edinburgh, by summing up the numbers in the 
different hospitals and the Charity Work-house. Edinburgh is so well provided 
with educational charities, nearly all of which give a preference, in their admis- 
sions, to orphans, that it is not at all probable that many destitute orphan children 
are without this pale. The summation of the numbers obtained, as above stated, 
gives 272 for the number of male orphans supported by the public, using the word 
orphan in the same sense as hithertOv and the age being between six and fifteen 
years. The population of Edinburgh is about 176,000, which would give nearly 
.155 per cent, as the number of orphan boys supported in the charitable estab- 
lishments of the city. The corresponding proportion for the town of Weimar is 
.137 per cent., and for the town of Zurich, .495 per cent. 

* Kindly furnished to me by Burgomaster Hess. 



9 ^'^5. an 












O *• o « ■* ,0 



^* .^^ "^. 








^^ . 




^°-'^. 



^ -.'^^"V" '?.^ ^^ \^P/ .^^"'^^^ \^^|\)^. 










^°-;^ 










-n^-o^ 












Of A^* * 







" '^^> ^ 
■^(y 



v^' 







« • o, V- 




















t 







